Troubles with Fairy Tales
by laura-maeve
Summary: Nessie Cullen is all grown up, and noticing Jacob. It's been nine years since her birth, and she's now a beautiful young woman. Alpha male, Jacob Black can sense her maturity and knows that it's time to tell her about imprinting. Now, both must figure out their feelings for the other as well as tell each other all while dealing with a new threat to both wolf and Cullen territories.
1. Chapter 1

**Nightmares and Shopping Trips**

I was dreaming. I knew I was dreaming…but that didn't stop me from being scared.

_The woods were dark and cold. I didn't care. Finding Jacob was all that mattered to me, even if I was at risk of losing my tongue due to my chattering teeth. I kept my arms wrapped around my torso, keeping my body heat closer to me._

_"Jacob!" I screamed, hoping he would come to me. Any time I had called him, it only took once before he was bounding straight for me. This time, there was nothing but silence._

_Even in a dream, there should be the sound of leaves rustling, bugs chirping, the sound of bats fluttering through the trees. But there was nothing. The only sounds were my breathing, slowly accelerating with fear, and my heart beat following suit._

_Something was terribly wrong. My pace quickened, causing me to stumble. Even in my dream, I was my mother's daughter._

_"Jacob!" I screamed again. Nothing. I had no clue where I was; I didn't recognize anything. This forest wasn't familiar._

_It was just as I grabbed onto a tree trunk for balance to step over a fallen tree that I stumbled down said tree and came around the one I was holding onto, and saw, literally, my worst nightmare._

_I gasped, putting my fingers over my mouth. A couple yards away from me lay a giant russet wolf, unmoving. Its eyes were open, unblinking, seeing nothing. Empty, they were empty. I knew this wolf. I had stroked his fur, kissed his snout, run with him in the forest. I knew his heartbeat, which was noticeably missing, like my favorite song._

_I tore my eyes away from his face to see his fur matted around his neck. The ground below his head was darker than the surrounding dirt._

_"Jacob," I whispered as my knees hit the ground. I felt nothing. When I wrapped my arms around myself this time, it was to keep myself from falling apart, to keep my heart together._

_I wanted nothing more than to crawl to him and lay with him, but I saw a flicker of a shadow move. Putting my back to the tree, I scooted back around to the other side. Holding myself tight, I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to wake up._

_Out of nowhere a hand seized me by the collar of my shirt. I screamed…_

I sat straight up in bed, breathing hard. My clothes and sheets were covered in sweat. My room was starting to lighten up from the rising sun. I had finally slept through the night, but I didn't feel any more rested. I felt worse. Reaching over to the other side of the bed, I found it empty. There was nothing there. The usual warmth and solidness that should have been there was about an hour away from me trying to negotiate a new peace treaty.

Putting my head in my hands, I groaned. He never told me when he would be coming back. He'd told me that he didn't want me to just sit there and count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds. Well, I was counting them anyway, the days at least. And I was dead set on telling him he'd been away too long. Of course, if I told him that I'd been having nightmares while he was away, I'm sure he wouldn't be away for as long. But I'd told him to stay however long he felt he needed to get this done quicker, swallowing my fear as I did so.

My father, Edward Cullen, had told me that it was just as hard for Jacob to be away from me. It made me feel a little better, but I doubted he was having nightmares of me lying in the forest with blood pooling under my head. He probably wouldn't be gone right now.

I sighed heavily. Yesterday had been my last day of home schooling. I had nothing to do now but sit and wait. From downstairs, I heard the piano start up, playing my lullaby. Daddy knew I was awake and had had another nightmare. I never could close my mind to him while I slept.

_Hi, daddy, _I thought to him with a smile.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he whispered sweetly to me.

I listened for a moment as he swept his fingers over the keys, slowly coming to the end of my lullaby. Slowly, very slowly, my tense muscles relaxed. I tilted my head from side to side stretching out my neck.

"Ooh, she's awake!" Aunt Alice squealed. I heard her tiny form _swish _up the staircase.

I sighed again. I guess it was just going to be one of those days. There were two knocks on my door before my bubbly little pixie of an aunt came bouncing into my room.

"Good morning, Nessie!" She leaned in to peck me on the cheek.

"Good morning, Aunt Alice." I pressed my lips to her cold cheek. "I'm guessing you came in here to ask if you could dress me and we go shopping since I'm done with school."

She hopped up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly. "Please, oh please, oh please?" she begged with her hands put together in front of her face. "You're a free woman now. We can do whatever you want."

At the sound of her calling me a woman, my face flushed. I was done with high school. The only time I'd been in a school was my freshman year. I wanted the experience of being a normal teenager. It was great but I was growing too fast. By the time I was a sophomore I looked like I was eighteen. In all actuality, I was only nine years old, but I still looked eighteen. Carlisle had told me he figured I was done growing. The oldest I could probably pass for would be twenty-two or three if I dressed just right.

Carlisle was actually my grandfather on my dad's side but I couldn't bring myself to call him grandpa. It just didn't seem right with him looking like he could be my brother, or a distant cousin. It was the same with his wife, Esme, my grandmother. Neither of them were insulted that they didn't get their familial names. But sometimes I would forget and slip up. I knew they enjoyed it because they would grin like idiots.

I shook my head, coming back to the present. "Ok, ok. But can I dress myself?"

Her face fell a little. "Sure."

Her face shook my resolve. "Go pick out whatever you want." She squealed again and took off for my abnormally huge closet. "No heels!" I screamed after her as an afterthought.

I didn't live in my parents' cottage with them simply because it was theirs. Also, Aunt Alice had a really bad habit of buying me a lot of stuff. I ran out of room in my tiny little bedroom at the cottage. I kept my "baby" stuff there, but had moved into the big white "Cullen house". My dad's old room still had most of his stuff. His stereo, bed, knickknacks, cds, and such. The only thing Esme had cleaned out after renovating the cottage was his closet. Unfortunately, Aunt Alice decided that that left tons of room for new clothes for me as I grew. I always argued the point that she would never let me wear the same outfit twice so why did I need that big of a closet? She had given me a dangerous look so I shut up.

While the little pixie shifted through my closet, I decided it was time to get out of bed. I went to the bathroom because, obviously, nature was calling. This was usually around the time that I would shut my thoughts down to my father.

My gift was that I could touch someone and show them my thoughts or memories. That was how I had communicated during the first few months of my life. Eventually, we, meaning my dad and Carlisle, thought that I might be able to do this without touching people. They were right, but I had to work at it. I also had to learn how to touch people without them seeing anything. Sometimes, if my thoughts or feelings were strong, I would project them on accident. But it was easy to learn that one because I wanted that. As I started maturing, I knew that I'd have to get away from Dad or have Mom follow me around. I didn't want either, so Carlisle had taught me how to meditate in order to erect a mental shield. We weren't sure that it would work until I stood right in front of Dad thinking about a love scene in a movie. His face had scrunched up, trying to read me, but he couldn't. But as soon as a burst of joy washed through me, it crumbled.

Carlisle told me that I'd have to practice for a while before I was able to keep it up, but that it was pretty well done on my first attempt. So, I practiced every day, and eventually, I got to the point where I could just picture it in my mind and there it would be. Dad was mad at Carlisle for a while for teaching me that. I giggled every time his face would scrunch up.

Coming back to the here and now, I could hear my father sigh downstairs after I closed up on him. I laughed as I glanced in the mirror while washing my hands. My hair was a mess, of course. It reached down to my waist in bronze curls. Jacob and daddy refused to let me cut it. In return, Jacob kept his hair short and shaggy for me, because even though I loved his long black hair, I also knew that it was uncomfortable for him when he phased. His russet fur would reflect the length of his human hair. With his hair long, he tended to get heated faster and worn out sooner. Besides, I loved how it fell into his eyes when it was short and shaggy. It made him look almost as young as me.

Jacob had been sixteen when he first phased but the werewolf gene had caused him to bulk up and look older. Biologically speaking, Jacob was somewhere around twenty-five but looked about twenty. It was strange but for an older guy, he was attractive.

I startled myself with that thought. Suddenly, I was glad that I could close my thoughts from my father.

Shaking my head, I cupped my hands under the faucet and put my hands to my hair, smoothing out the curls. If Jacob were to come home today, I wanted to look decent.

I blinked at myself.

When had I ever wanted to look decent in front of Jacob? Had that thought always been there at the back of my mind? Yes, I realized with a shock, it had.

Ok, this was getting weird. Those dreams must be starting to affect me. I mean, I loved Jake. I always had, but when had I started having these thoughts about wanting to please him and how attractive he was? Hmm. Maybe it was just because he was the only boy I was constantly around that wasn't family. Not to mention, with my accelerated growth, I am a teenager. Teenagers have to start seeing the opposite sex as a being without cooties eventually. Right? But I also thought about how we never tell each other that we love the other like we used to do when I was small. I never realized when it had stopped. It was sort a mutual agreement. We didn't need to say it.

I sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. Shaking my head again, I walked out of the bathroom to find my aunt bouncing on her toes again.

"Your outfit's ready. I left it on your bed. No heels, just as you asked."

I smiled at her. She was so cute. "Thank you, Aunt Alice. I'll get dressed after I eat breakfast."

Her face fell again.

"Ok, ok. I'll get dressed now. What's your rush anyway?" I asked, brushing past her into my room.

She followed me like I knew she would. "You are a woman now. We have to buy womanly stuff."

I raised an eyebrow. "Please mean clothes."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course." I relaxed, but too soon. "And shoes, and underwear."

"Aunt Alice!" I nearly shouted.

"What? I have to get you out of these cotton things. You need lacy, racy, silky things." She shrugged as if my father hadn't just heard her.

I crossed my arms over my stomach. "Yeah? And who exactly am I going to be wearing those for?"

She grinned wickedly and I heard Dad growl downstairs.

"Alice," he growled out. "Don't even."

Needless to say I was confused, but I gave in. "Fine. If it makes you happy and gets you off my back, fine. Just let me get something to eat first. I am half human."

She nodded with that stupid scary grin still on her face. It had gotten even more wicked after I agreed and Dad groaned.

Quickly, I slid my clothes on. A designer pair of jeans that were oddly comfortable and a long sleeved white shirt. It was a very normal-looking outfit. I was surprised that Alice had contained herself. I put my comfy tennis shoes on and I was ready to go. Before I left my room, I slipped a hair tie around my wrist just in case.

Skipping down the stairs, I skipped right into my Uncle Emmett's back, which nearly knocked me over. The man was a rock, literally. He turned quickly and caught me.

"Hey, you," he said in way of greeting.

"Hey, yourself, Uncle Em. Why are you standing at the bottom of the stairs?"

He righted me on my feet and gently kissed my cheek. "I was going to go upstairs but your dad threw something at me."

I peered around Uncle Em's massive form at my dad who was still sitting at the piano. "And why did you throw something at Uncle Em?"

Dad looked at me and smiled. "Because I wanted to."

I shrugged. "Well there you have it."

Uncle Em rolled his eyes. "You two are exactly alike." He grinned at me, swooping me into a massive bear hug.

I braced my hands on his shoulders. "Can't…breathe." I gasped out. "Put…me…down."

He put me down, chuckling. "Aw, you're half vampire. You can take it."

"I didn't say you were trying to break my ribs. But my lungs actually _need _to breathe."

He chuckled again and walked away. I went over to my dad to sit next to him on the piano bench. "What's up, Daddy?" I rested my head on his shoulder.

He leaned over and kissed my hair softly. "I just heard you wake up. I thought you might need some soothing."

"Thanks. I've just been having some weird dreams lately." I watched his fingers dance across the keys gracefully.

He leaned over to whisper in my ear, "I've noticed." His fingers never faltered. "Is that why you close your mind to me?"

I looked up at him, startled. "No. Not at all. If I even thought for two seconds that you could help me with them, I'd let you in. But you see them every night when I sleep. I know you watch me and my dreams. You know how scared I am when I wake up."

The piano stopped and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I should be there to soothe you when you wake up. I guess I just feel that you're strong now, and don't need me like you used to."

"Oh, daddy," I whispered, wrapping my arms around his waist and tucking my head into his chest. "I'll always need you, no matter what. You and mamma are my strength. I love you both so very much." _And I'm glad you let mamma keep me_, I thought shamefully to myself.

"We love you, too, sweetie." I felt the press of his lips firmer against my hair.

"Besides, I do have my reasons for keeping you out of my head." I smirked at him.

He raised his eyebrows. "And what reason would that be?"

"Well I am a teenager, Dad. And I want to try to be a normal teenager. I mean, of course you know what I'm thinking. All parents have that I-used-to-be-that-age speech. I want to be able to be a normal teenager with normal teenage thoughts."

He groaned. "Now you have me guessing. And you aren't a teenager. Technically, you're still nine."

I gave him a look.

He sighed. "Of course. I know, I know. Mentally though you are eighteen." Then he started mumbling under his breath. "If I were a human father, I'm pretty sure I'd have a shotgun loaded and a heart attack waiting to happen."

I giggled. "It's ok, Daddy. Don't worry. It's not that bad."

Then, from somewhere behind me, I heard an impatient sigh and the tapping of a shoe. Aunt Alice.

I turned to find her in the foyer with her arms crossed. Her high heeled toe was tapping furiously against the hardwood floor.

Daddy and I looked at each other. I rolled my eyes. "Ok, ok. Jeez. Let me grab a Pop-tart or something." I went to the kitchen and grabbed a cookie dough package of Pop-tarts out of the freezer and met Aunt Alice at the door.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yup. All set," I said, shaking my Pop-tarts at her. She made a face. "Bye, Dad!" I called over my shoulder.

"Bye, sweetie. See you later. Have fun!" he called back.

I walked out to find a car pulling up to the porch. Aunt Rosalie was driving.

Apparently, we were having a girls' day out. Fine with me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh, hey, guys! Yeah I know. I just posted the first Chapter. However, I really think that this one, from Jacob's POV will help catch and keep interest. Jacob was a bit difficult to write, but I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Many of the Jacobs that I've read have either been too manly or too girly. I wanted him to respect Edward and Bella but still be a dominant male in Nessie's life, proving that he can take care of her. So here goes nothin', hot dog.**

**Oh, and, I don't own a thing. We all know who does.**

**JPOV**

This was killing me. I can't believe she told me to stay as long as I needed. She should have told me to come back in two or three days. I'd have been home two days ago. This tiny no-room-to-move cabin was grating on my nerves. It was too small, and I couldn't work off my nervous energy. Tomorrow. I could go home tomorrow.

I stopped in the middle of my pacing. It was weird to think how I'd started to think of the big Cullen house as home. Of course I still had Billy and Rachel. But Rachel was living with Paul now. They'd gotten a house of their own. Paul had imprinted on her a little over nine years ago when she had come home to visit from college. Paul was my brother in wolfdom. I'd always wanted a brother…but did it really have to be Paul? As I thought about it, I couldn't have asked for anyone more perfect. We already fought like brothers. One minute we'd be cussing at each other, and the next we would be wrestling out in the front yard, laughing the entire time. They only live a couple houses down from Billy, so they were always visiting or sleeping over

That gave me an excuse to stay with Nessie. Of course when Nessie had mentally hit the teenage stage, Edward and Bella had politely asked me to either sleep at my house or come in from patrols after she had gone to sleep. That way she wouldn't know I was in the house, and I could sleep on the couch and be near her. To my relief, Edward seemed to understand that it was hard for me to be away from her so he went easy on me. But occasionally I would make a slip and think something a little too intimate about her, and I would hear a growl from somewhere in the house. He knew I loved her more than anything though.

However, Nessie started to have bad dreams a few nights after the new rule had gone into effect. I'd be at my house or running patrols when my cell phone would ring. I would tie my cell into my pants around my leg when I phased. It would be her sobbing into the phone telling me that she had had a nightmare about me. Edward would let me stay in the bed with her until she fell asleep, then I had permission to sleep on the floor, like the good dog I was. But I took whatever I could get so that I could be near her.

As she got older, mentally and physically, the dreams got worse. Bella and Edward had talked and granted me permission to sleep in the bed with her as long as I stayed on top of the blankets. That was fine with me. I stayed at a toasty 108 degrees year round. I didn't need them.

And I know Edward noticed when I noticed she was maturing. Something changed in her. Even her scent changed. When Mother Nature had made her appearances once a month, my wolf senses went into overdrive. They were screaming that she was now mature enough to mate, and that we should take her before another male could move in on her. Edward had growled and snarled until he saw that the first time I had thought it, it had been on a subconscious level. I tried not to dwell on it too much for his and my sake. Yes, I wanted her, but I didn't want the animal in me to take over. I was in charge now. But just that one unconscious thought stayed with me. She was maturing.

Nessie had become a beautiful young woman. Edward and Bella both had made me promise that if she chose me, we would get married before we got intimate. That was not a conversation I liked to remember. Can we say awkward? I can, and I did.

I say if she chooses me, because I imprinted on her but I haven't told her. Her family and mine knew that I wanted to be the one to tell her, but I just didn't know how. And to be honest her parents wanted to give her a chance to choose whomever she wished. I understood, but I didn't like the idea of another guy thinking that she could be his. To my wolf instincts, she was mine. She had been mine for nine years, and she would be mine until the day either one of us died. Heh, us dying. Yeah, right. Like that was ever going to happen. We had been told that she would live for a very, very long time. I refused to stop phasing and start aging until she grew up and chose. But I knew that even if she didn't choose me, I would stick around to make sure that the guy didn't do anything to hurt her. I guess I was stickin' around for the long haul, so to speak.

I sighed. Remembering all of that made me miss her so much. I wondered if she was having those nightmares again. I'd tried to call her earlier, but she never answered. Edward had made me promise to try not to call her every day. It was difficult, but I did my best. It was weird how I listened to Edward. He treated me like I was a future son-in-law, not the guy who had tried to take his "reason for existing" away from him over nine years ago.

Now, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed his number.

"Hello?" said a musical voice.

"Edward," was my brilliant response.

"Jacob. How are you?"

I leaned my head from side to side trying to cure the tension. It didn't work.

"Well aside from the fact that they won't let me phase and they have my giant ass stuck inside a tin can, I think I'm pretty much falling apart. What about you?"

He chuckled. "You mean how's Renesmee?"

Yeah, I guess I was transparent. "Well, yeah. I tried to call her earlier, but I got no answer. But I guess how are you and Bells?"

"Nessie is out with her aunts. They went graduation shopping. She finished school yesterday. Bella and I are fine." He paused. "We miss you and want you to come home."

I didn't know if he was being serious or not. "You mean _she_ wants me home. You guys couldn't care less."

I heard a noise like he was shaking his head against the phone. "No, Jacob. All of us. It's entirely too cold around here."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks. Wait. Aren't the others visiting and checking in?" I asked nervously.

"Yes. Seth and Leah come in every day but they aren't you, Jacob. Besides, you're the only one who can cure her nightmares, as much as I hate to say that." He chuckled again.

Gripping the phone tighter, I asked, "She's having those nightmares again?"

He sighed on the other end. "Yes. And I believe they are getting more vivid. I watch them with her every night. There's color now." Another pause.

"What? What is it?" The poor phone was perilously close to being crushed in my ever tightening grip.

Pause. "She finally knows what's wrong with you, why you won't come to her when she calls. Now, she sees you dead in wolf form. Last night, after she saw it, there was something else in the woods with her."

"What was it?" I nearly growled out.

"I'm not sure. But I believe it was a vampire. She closes her eyes and then it grabs her. She screams and wakes up, screaming. It gets worse the longer you're gone. When are you coming home?"

I tried to smirk but couldn't. "I knew it wasn't because you missed me." I ran a hand through my shaggy hair to get it out of my eyes. "I was going to come back tomorrow."

He shifted again. "I'm not sure she can endure another night of this, Jacob. Last night was bad."

I swallowed hard. "How bad?"

"The moment she saw you and got over the shock, she whispered your name and fell to her knees. At that exact moment her heart stuttered in reality. She literally couldn't bear to see you like that." Then in a whisper so low I almost couldn't hear it, "Neither could I."

To say I was touched by his sentiment could be described as an understatement. I thought furiously to myself for a minute. Were her feelings changing for me, or was it because she had grown up around me? But Edward had just told me that she dreamed about me. I didn't know if it was normal that girls dream about boys that they don't have feelings for, or at least dreams where they could barely handle seeing what they were seeing in that dream.

I sighed. Things here were still not going so well, hence the reason I had been here for five days. We were getting nowhere with this right now. I made a decision, and Sam was just going to have to live with it.

"Edward?" just to make sure he was still there.

"Hmm?" Ok, he was still there.

"I'll be home tonight. What time do you think she'll get back?"

I could hear his smile when he spoke next. "That's great, Jacob. I doubt Alice would only stay away for half of the day. They should be back in a couple of hours."

"Ok. I'll get things cleaned up here and then be on my way. If she gets home before I do, don't tell her I'm coming. I want to surprise her."

"Sure thing. We can't wait to see you."

"Ok. See you soon. Bye, Edward."

"Bye, Jacob."

Home. I was finally going home after what seemed like years.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3! I know the first couple were a little slow, but it was the set up for a reunion. It's not as 'awwww' as some people would make it or like it, but it's still sweet. So for now, here's some more setting up and a father/daughter talk. And the reason that Edward is less like a human father ready with that shotgun is because he can read their minds. He understands that both Jacob and Nessie are struggling with each other. And this chapter has two different POVs.**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**RPOV**

I was loaded down with bags as Aunt Alice searched through what she promised as silky, lacy, and racy undergarments. Every time she held something up to my body, I would flush. I thanked whatever god there was out there that there wasn't anybody else in the small boutique. Aunt Rose would stand there and add her input. Either something wouldn't' go with my hair, or skin, or eyes, or wouldn't accentuate my curves just right.

I mean let's face it, I was curvy. I had hips and breasts. I could never be like my aunts or my mom and cross my arms over my chest. They had to be crossed over my stomach. I found out I had a "nice ass" in my freshman year at high school when some random football player smacked me as he passed me in the hallway.

That was a fun day. Daddy had told Jacob apparently, because when I came out from my last hour class, I found Jacob leaning against his bike that was parked next to my car.

I loved that memory. His arms were tensed, crossed tightly over his chest. He wore a tight black shirt that showed he wasn't a flimsy bean pole. But the look on his face had been scary yet beautiful. The line of his body as it leaned against his bike was delicious encased in jeans and his t-shirt. Wait…what? I shook my head. Not that again.

As soon as I had walked up to him, he'd asked me which guy it was. I didn't ask who he meant. I knew. And there was no arguing with him. I could almost feel the Alpha waves pouring off of him. So I pointed over to the guy that was standing in a circle of his buddies near his pick-up truck. Jacob peeled himself away from the bike and strutted over to him. The boys around the guy parted to let Jacob through.

I listened curiously as Jacob threatened the guy, whose name was Luke. Luke had laughed. Jacob fisted his hands but I whispered, knowing he would hear me, "Jacob, don't. Let's go home."

He unclenched his hands, but leaned into Luke. I giggled, I couldn't help it, as Luke's eyes widened when Jacob threatened to rip off a certain part of Luke's anatomy with a low growl in his chest. Luke swore he would never touch me again.

That was a great day. I asked Jacob what was so wrong and he told me, "Just because you have a nice ass doesn't mean that other guys need to touch it", with yet another growl. Then he realized what he'd said and looked startled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

I giggled. "It's ok, Jake. I get it. You are a guy."

He'd blushed.

Remembering that made me want to participate in today's shopping trip now. I set down the bags to search through the underwear. I found a pair that were lacy, black, silky, and my size. Black always looked good against my alabaster skin. I held them up to Aunt Alice.

"How about these?" I asked with a mischievous grin.

Her eyes widened. Both of my aunts shared a look.

"They're perfect," they both said in unison.

After a couple more hours, I was worn out, and I needed some food. The aunts both decided that it was time to go home. We could always come back out later since I didn't have so much school to occupy my time now.

Daddy had heard us coming up the driveway and was waiting for us in the yard with Uncle Jasper. Aunt Rose pulled the car up so that the trunk was right in front of the boys. I watched through the back window as she popped the trunk and saw their eyes widen seeing how much we'd gotten. I smirked.

Dad looked up at me and grinned.

_Don't look in the bags. You don't wanna know what we found_, I thought to him. He raised his eyebrows

"Alice." It was a statement.

I heard her sigh from the front seat. "Just chill, Edward. She's almost a grown woman. Women need things to feel feminine and more…womanly."

He growled a little. "She doesn't need to feel more womanly yet. She's only nine."

Aunt Rose stepped out of the car. "Edward, biologically speaking, yes, Ness is only nine. But mentally and physically, she is a young woman. I think you're getting caught up on the nine part." She walked around the car to put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it must be hard on you, being her father and all, but she needs to be treated like a young woman, not a child."

He hung his head and sighed.

"Edward, it's not the end of the world," Jasper said. He looked at me over my father's shoulder. "I can feel her emotions. She's very mature. Let her be who she is, who she wants to be. I think you might be surprised." He winked at me as he said that last.

I smiled back as I got out of the car. "Daddy," I said softly. He didn't respond. I went up to him and everybody moved aside. I touched his cheek. "Daddy, please look at me."

He slowly shifted his eyes up to my face, peering at me through his eyelashes. "Yes, baby?"

"Daddy, I love you. I'll always be your little girl, so I can understand why you're so protective of me. It must seem like only yesterday that I was born." He looked away from me again, but I kept going. "I'm sorry that this is so hard on you, but you have to understand that this isn't easy for me either. I wanted to stay in school. I never get to see Shelby anymore."

Shelby had quickly become my best friend, besides Jacob, of course, during my freshman year at school. She was popular but sweet. Daddy always told me that though she's popular, her thoughts were innocent. He had seen no knives waiting to be sunk into my back. I'd had to pretend that I was sick for an entire year so that she wouldn't come over and notice how much I had matured in such a short amount of time. I hadn't seen her since last month when I had gone to the woods right outside of her house to check on her.

She had been lying on her bed staring at a framed photo of us taken at a mall in Seattle. We had both tried on skimpy-looking dresses and taken pictures of ourselves in the dressing rooms. Nobody had ever seen those pictures besides us, and maybe my dad. But if he'd seen them, he never mentioned it.

"I miss her," I whispered. "Daddy, with her, I could be a normal teenager. I could be me. I think it's about time that I felt that way around here. And for me to do that, I need to go shopping with Aunt Alice and buy things that you would never approve of and allow me to wear in public." I smiled as he rolled his eyes. Though he was sad, he couldn't help himself. I grinned wider. "I love you, daddy."

He sighed. "I love you, too. But before you wear them _for_ anybody, please be in at least a committed relationship."

"Dad! Gross." I smacked his arm. "I don't plan to. It's just for me. Besides, who the hell would I wear anything like that for?"

It was quick, but I saw daddy glance at my family surrounding us. I watched them all shift. That was new. They were vampires. Vampires don't fidget.

My eyes swept over them, and I felt my gaze narrow, particularly on Aunt Alice. "What do you guys know that I don't?"

They all looked away from me except Aunt Alice. She pranced up to me, smiling.

"Nothing. We just know that one day there _will_ be a very lucky guy that your father will just have to get used to. He knows that he'll have to let you go eventually."

I didn't believe her. Or at least I didn't believe she was telling me all of it. Maybe being vague and unhelpful. There was an awkward silence as they all stared at me.

I sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's get all this stuff inside before we all become too emotional and forget."

Most of the bags went into my room but a couple went into Alice's. My father was the only one who didn't leave. I had a feeling there was a talk coming.

"Renesmee, we need to talk. And I want this to be just a father/daughter talk, though your mother will hear us." He smirked. So did I.

I didn't want to start taking things out of the bags to put them up in front of him, so I just sat down on the bed. I patted the seat next me so that this would be less awkward. He sat.

"First off, I wanted to apologize for how I reacted just a minute ago." He held a hand up to stop my protest. "I…and your mother, too, need to realize that you are grown up. In the eyes of the law, you could pass for an eighteen year old adult. We both also know that being as grown as you are, your hormones are going to start kicking in and that you are going to want to dress to please."

I felt sorry for him. I knew this was hard for him. "Dad," I rested my head on his shoulder. "I am not going to change who I am just because my teenage hormones want me to change. There is no way on this planet that I am going to start dressing like that skank, Marlene, from freshman year." I allowed him to see my memories of her pretending to get mad when the boys would grab her butt in the hallways and then lick her lips looking back at them. It was disgusting.

I shivered with the grossness of it.

"Anyway, I don't need a boyfriend. I don't have anyone to dress up for right now, and I don't want anybody."

He gave me a look like he knew I was lying. "You leaked this morning when washing your face." I felt myself go pale. "Your feelings for Jacob are changing, Renesmee."

"You weren't supposed to see that," I whispered.

Dad's fingers pressed under my chin to get me to meet his eyes. I hadn't realized I had looked away. "I know I wasn't. I tried all day to ignore it, because it truly isn't my business. But me being your father has left me feeling like I need to say something."

"You don't approve of Jacob? Because usually, when dads give these kinds of talks it's because they don't approve of the boy that their daughter is interested in."

Daddy smiled his very crooked smile. I loved that smile. "Of course I approve of Jacob. He's a very good man." My stomach rolled at that-in a good way. "And his main goal in life is to keep my daughter happy." He tapped his temple. Huh? Why would Jacob's goal be to keep me happy? Then the smirk on my father's face faded. He didn't answer my unvoiced question. One look inside my head told me that my shield was back up. "I just want you to be thinking about consequences of actions. Also be prepared if Jacob says that he needs to tell you something."

I pulled away from him. "Daddy, what do you know that I don't? I know you know something."

He sighed, wrapping his arms around me. "It's not mine to tell. Just be patient with him."

I looked down again. "Does he…I mean, are his feelings for _me_ changing?"

"You need to figure that out on your own." He rubbed the curls that twisted down my back. "But always remember that whether or not his feelings change, the only thing that is constant for him is his love for you." When I gave him a confused look, he said, "There are very many different types of love."

I wasn't mad at him for not telling me how Jacob felt, because he was right not to tell me Jacob's thoughts. They were his until he decided to tell me. But I still didn't like that he was keeping something from me.

Daddy chuckled. "Everybody keeps something from someone, Ness." Inwardly, I saw that my shield had started to crack. I swiftly concentrated on sealing it back up. Daddy had theorized that my ability to learn how to shield as fast as I had was due to Mom passing me a little bit of hers. I'd just had to learn how to utilize it so that I could keep my thoughts to myself by not projecting them to others and for Dad to leave me alone as I grew.

"Yeah, but we're best friends." I knew my voice sounded hurt, but I couldn't help it.

"Even best friends have secrets." He pulled away to look at me knowingly before saying, "And I know you have a secret you're keeping from him."

I hung my head. I'd been caught.

**JPOV**

I was finally on my way home. The damn tribal elders wanted me to be formal in my departure. Their words, not mine. It's ridiculous that they actually saw me as the chief of the Quileute tribe. I was not. I might be the Alpha of my small pack, but that didn't make me chief. They should look to my dad or Sam for that.

But I suppose, if what I had told Bella all those years ago was true, and we still lived like we did back then, I would be chief. Damn. I sighed to myself in my head. I really didn't want to think about that right now.

At the moment, I was running with everything I had in me. The forest flew under my paws. The trees were a blur, and I could see the forest animals hurry to scamper out of my way. The clouds overhead were turning purple with a coming snow storm and the wind now had bite to it, but I'd be damned if I would stop to rest. I could rest when I got home. Home. To Nessie.

* * *

**What do you think? I wouldn't mind any reviews, but I am just thankful that it's being read. So a shout out to all those who have read it so far. I will be updating regularly.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's Chapter 4. I know I'm posting two a day but I already have quite a few chapters written so I'm trying to get them up since it's nearing the holidays and work sucks. And I'm also still working on the story so I'm using a lot of my free time to write. Though I know that all of you know sometimes we all get writer's block. So far so good. *Fingers crossed***

**I own nothing, except maybe story line, dialogue, and Nessie's dreams.**

**RPOV**

Daddy left me alone to unpack. And I guess to think. He was right. I was keeping something from Jacob. My feelings. But in my own defense, I hadn't realized how they had changed until this morning, after that dream had left me shaken. Yes, I loved Jacob. But why hadn't I ever realized that that love was growing into something more?

I was in the midst of folding all my clean clothes including the ones I had just bought when I heard something that made my heart stutter and my stomach clench. A howl. Coming from behind my house. I'd never heard the howl before, but I knew that voice. It was Jacob. He was home.

I dropped what I had in my hands and ran to what I liked to call my window wall. Almost an entire wall of my room was a window. Pressing my hands to the glass, I let my eyes adjust to trying to see into the darkness. My eyesight was better than a human's but not as good as a vampire's. I had to refocus a little.

I caught a glimpse of movement that suddenly stopped. Jacob was phasing in the shelter of the woods so that he could get dressed. Speaking of dressed, I looked down at myself. My outfit was fine, but I needed to freshen up a bit after shopping all day. Quickly, I ran to the bathroom. My hair was a little frizzy due to coming inside from being in drizzling rain all day. I smoothed it down with a bit of water. I also brushed my teeth, just in case.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I took a deep breath and rotated my neck and shoulders. It's just Jake, I said to myself. _Yeah,_ said the other part, _but he's been gone for days, and you now realize that feelings are changing._ I told that part to shut up.

I heard a laugh downstairs. It was deep and rough. It made me shiver.

"Jacob!" Aunt Alice squealed. I heard her feet sprint across the wood floor into the living room. A moment later I heard what sounded like a smack. She must have kissed him. "I missed you! Of course I didn't miss not being able to _see, _butstill, I missed you."

Jacob laughed again. "I missed you too, Shortie. I missed all of you."

One at a time, I heard my family greet him except Aunt Rose. She still didn't like him. Her temper had gotten worse after Jacob had been allowed to sleep in my bed with me. She now complained that the smell of dog was permanently imbedded in my skin and clothes.

"Blondie," I heard Jacob say stiffly.

"Mutt," she returned, voice just as stiff. I sighed mentally.

When he got to my mom there was a pause. I had a feeling she was hugging him tightly. Then, I heard another smack, but I didn't think it was my mom kissing Jacob. I was right. That was a gross image anyway.

"Ow, Bells! What the hell was that for?" he hissed.

"That was for being gone too long. The next time you're gone that long, I will personally come get you and drag you back by your entirely too long hair." I don't know why she was complaining about his hair. I knew that she had gotten mad the first time he had cut it all off when he was sixteen.

I couldn't help it, though. I laughed.

The entire house paused.

"She's upstairs," daddy told him.

"Can I?" Jacob asked hesitantly.

Before he could receive an answer, I was already out of the bathroom and halfway down the stairs. Jacob was just about to start up the first step when I slammed into him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He automatically wrapped his arms around my waist to keep us steady.

My nose was buried next to his ear when I whispered, "Jacob."

**JPOV**

Before I could even put a foot on the first step, I saw a blur on the stairs. I had only seconds to brace myself when Nessie rushed into my arms. On reflex, I caught her around the waist. Her arms and legs wrapped around me tightly. I didn't mind in the least. I buried my face in her long bronze curls. She whispered my name into my ear, and I swore to myself that I would never be gone that long again. But hearing her say my name like that made it worth it.

"Nessie, it's just me," I said, trying to play it off, praying that she didn't notice how much my whispered name affected me.

She pulled back to look me in the eye. "Just you? _Just_ you? It's not _just _you!" Her frantic eyes softened, and she gently brushed my shaggy hair away from my eyes. "Don't you know, Jacob?"

I swallowed hard at the sound of my name coming from her lips. Dammit, it was just a freakin' name, for cryin' out loud. "Know what?" I choked out.

She smiled. "We're best friends. Best friends give part of themselves to the other. So when you're away, you take a part of me with you. It's never _just_ you."

God, I loved her so much. I just wished she knew. "I'm sorry that I took a part of you away. But I think you're right. I always leave a part of me with you, too."

She beamed at me. I would do anything just to see that smile on her face, especially directed at me. I don't think she realized it made me melt into my socks, figuratively speaking since I don't wear those. "Oh, Jake! It's so good to have you home!" She threw her arms around my neck once more but pulled away almost immediately, which I didn't like. Poking a finger into my chest, she said, "If you ever stay away that long again, I will let Momma drag you back, and then…and then…"

My eyebrows rose at her stutter. She never was good at making threats. I couldn't help but chuckle. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Her voice lowered a few octaves. "If you ever stay away that long again, I will let Mom drag you back, and then I will cut all my hair off."

My eyes widened. I could hear Edward gasp and then growl behind us. Neither of us was fond of the idea of her cutting off her hair. It was beautiful and suited her perfectly, not that I wouldn't think she was beautiful if she did decide to cut it off. I guess I was a man that just liked his woman's hair long. Edward growled again behind me, but I didn't think it was from her threat this time. I ignored him.

"You wouldn't," I countered.

"To my ears," she said.

"Nuh uh."

Her eyes narrowed further. "Do you really want to call my bluff, Jacob Black?"

We stared each other down for a good thirty seconds before we both cracked. She threw her head back in a full-throated laugh. I just chuckled watching her throat and the way it stretched into one graceful line.

There was a slight growl behind me. Edward. I guess today wasn't the best day to be around him since I had gone five days without seeing her. That was the longest I had ever been away from her since she was born. I was drinking in every detail. Edward would just have to get over it.

"Sorry," I whispered, knowing he would hear me.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Jacob, put me down. I need to make you dinner. I'm sure you're starved, because I'm pretty sure you didn't stop on the way back." She released her legs from around my waist and braced her hands on my shoulders as I let her slide to the floor.

At that moment, my stomach decided to growl. She looked at me.

"Of course not. I needed to get back here." That reminded me. "Oh, Edward," I turned toward him, acting like he hadn't just heard me telling him to get over me checking out his daughter. "I could feel a storm coming in. I think it's gonna be bad."

He nodded. "The news has been calling for massive amounts of snow coming in from the north."

"Would it be ok if my pack stayed here tonight? I don't think they should be running patrols in that. Besides they could still fight if something came too close."

Nessie placed her small hand on my arm, making me look down at her. "Jake, why are they still running patrols? Nothing has come for us for a little over eight years." Her eyes looked worried.

I placed a hand to her cheek. "Don't worry. We haven't picked up anything. I just want patrols run to make sure. I don't want anything to happen to my family."

"But your pack is your family, too."

She caught me. I could see it in her eyes. I looked at Edward. To my surprise, he gave an encouraging smile and nod. Usually, he didn't like me showing or telling her how protective I am of her. A little protective was ok, but what I felt toward her may be too much according to him. So I gave him a funny look. He rolled his eyes.

Ok? So, I looked back to the now young woman in front of me. She looked different than the last time I saw her. "I have them run patrols, because I want make sure you're protected."

"Jacob Black, you have them out there running constantly, because you're afraid I might fall and scrape my knee?" I couldn't help it. She was so cute with her hands on her hips, looking all serious and mad.

Trying to not to smile, I wrapped my hands around her waist. I was surprised when Edward's growl was low, like he was trying to hide it. "Nessie, you could handle a knee scrape. I'm not worried about that. I'm worried that the Volturi will make an appearance. There aren't many hybrids, and I know that 'people' may want to study them. I don't want you to end up as exhibit A."

Her eyes softened, and she placed her hand against my cheek. I know that my body temp runs high, but her hand was warm. "Jacob, I'm fine. I don't want you or the other wolves to end up as exhibits B or C. You guys are hybrids too, you know. Besides, Aunt Alice would see if they decided anything."

I wanted to believe her, but I knew things never went that smoothly. "That's true in Aro's case, but, Ness, they're really smart. And as much as I love Alice, her visions can be messed with. There are holes there that can be manipulated." I reached up to press her hand harder against my face, and glanced at Edward again, letting him hear what I wanted to say next. He frowned slightly, but nodded. I looked back down at Nessie. "I can't let anything happen to you. I can't take that big of a chance with you."

We stared into each other's eyes for a long time before she nodded. There was a small interrupting cough that made me realize that we had been standing there for a minute or so, just staring at each other.

I blinked, pulling myself away from her gaze. I'll admit it was pretty difficult.

Edward's voice was soft when it came. "The storm is moving fast according to Alice. You might want to go call your wolves in."

Nodding, I started to pull away from Nessie to go back outside to phase. She grabbed my arm. I think it had been a reflex, because when I looked back at her, she was staring like she hadn't meant to do that. But when she met my eyes, her grip tightened.

"Ness, it's ok. I'll be right back." I pressed my hand to her face. "I promise; I'll only be gone for two minutes. You won't even have time to miss me."

"Ok." She let go of my arm as I leaned in to press my lips to her forehead. She leaned into the kiss, which surprised me. It felt right, though, natural. "Hurry back."

**RPOV**

Letting Jacob go out of my sight when I'd just gotten him back tore at me, though I knew he wasn't leaving. I followed him into the kitchen. I'd wanted to take his hand, but I didn't want to seem too clingy. It took every ounce of strength not to reach out and grab his hand. This was getting ridiculous. Seriously.

I let him walk out the back door, after he gave me a smile, and close the door. I waited all of three seconds before I flung open the door. He'd phased in that short time. There was a giant russet wolf standing at the back door, just grinning at me. The image was so different from my dream that I wanted to cry. Jacob was alive. What the hell was wrong with me?

There must have been a look on my face, because Jacob's wolf grin left his face. He cocked his massive head to the side, whining a little as he came up to me. I lifted my hand up to rub at the space between his eyes. He pressed his wet nose to my forehead as he closed his eyes. If purring was the right word for a wolf, it's what he was doing deep in his chest.

The clouds overhead were purplish blue. As I watched, snow began to flurry down around us. It wasn't heavy, not yet, but spitting. White flecks swirled around us in dizzying patterns. Some landed on Jacob's fur. We stood there long enough for the dips by his ears to collect small piles of snow. I wasn't even cold. Must be the vampire in me, or being close to Jacob. He was warm. It was weird that he could keep me warm, yet snow gather on his fur coat. But the snow made him even more beautiful.

He kept his eyes closed for a long time, and I wondered if he was talking to his pack members as well as getting a message to Sam. Eventually though he lifted his head and looked at me. I was thinking that he was done conversing with his pack so I put down my shield and showed Jacob the image of him with snow covering his coat, and how beautiful I thought he was out here. He rolled his eyes and gave me a snort.

He gently nudged my stomach, forcing me back toward the house.

"Ness, I think it's time to come in. I believe Jacob would like to dress in private," Dad called from the door. "Besides, it's cold out here."

I rolled my eyes. He knew I was warm next to Jacob. He just didn't want me to see Jacob naked. Of course, I didn't think I did either until now. Now the thought was a little enticing, along with wearing my new underwear in front of him.

The next thing I know, a furious growl ripped through the night. Oops. I'd put my shield down.

I glanced back at daddy. "Sorry, dad." I shrugged. "But I did tell you that I was a normal teenager and had normal teenage thoughts. Is it my fault that you don't listen to me?"

Jacob let out a sound like he was chuckling.

I took one last look at Jacob before turning around and going into the house. As soon as dad shut the door behind us, it opened again sending a blast of cold air into the kitchen. I truly hadn't realized how cold it was standing next to Jacob. Speaking of Jacob. He had been the one to walk through the door. He came straight for me and took my hand like it was a reflex. My stomach flipped. His hand was strong, warm, and sure as it held mine tightly.

"Sorry. They were all towards the north, which is getting hammered with snow right about now. Seth said it's bad. We might be snowed in for a couple of days."

Dad nodded. I squeezed Jacob's hand. "Are they all on their way home?" I asked.

Jacob nodded. "Yeah," he grinned. "Seth told me he was literally freezing his tail off. Said he couldn't feel it."

I giggled. "Well then, I guess we should make them some hot chocolate to defrost them when they get here."

He grinned at me, showing off his pearly whites. "They'll like that. Don't forget the marshmallows, though. Seth will never forgive you."

"I'll do my best." And I went off to work.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! I'm so glad that people like this story. It's just been sitting in this computer forever. Now, this chapter is going to be kind of long, but I just couldn't see breaking it up. The way I've written this story is not in chapters but by different povs so if something just sort of randomly cuts off, more than likely it'll pick up in the next chapter. Until I post the next chapter, I guess you'll just have to deal with a little cliffhanger. *grins with evil intent***

**I own nothing.**

**JPOV**

The next three days were blissful. We did, in fact, get snowed in. Of course, we could have gotten out of the house if we'd needed to, but we just wanted to stay in and cozy up. Fine by me. For the most part, Nessie stayed curled under a blanket on my lap. Yes, there were some intimate thoughts, and yes, Edward did growl, but his actions were changing. His growls weren't as protective. They were more asking me to tone down my thoughts instead of telling me that I shouldn't be having them at all. Weird.

And Nessie herself had changed. Something was different about the way she was acting toward me. I couldn't figure it out until the night after I had come back.

Nessie and I had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the fireplace in the living room. We had been watching some romantic comedy that she had seen a thousand times and one that I would gladly suffer through a thousand times more just to watch her cry at the end with happy tears. I was lying on my back on the couch with her curled on top of my chest. A blanket rested over us. The only thing that I could see of her was the very top of her head. My arms were wrapped around her with my hands resting on her back to keep her from rolling off, or, at least, that's what I told myself.

I didn't realize what had woken me up until I looked up. Edward was leaning over the back of the couch, watching us with a peaceful smile on his face.

I gave him a quizzical look. If I spoke, I risked waking Nessie up. From what I heard about her nightmares, she needed the sleep. So I just looked at him. He leaned over and gently lifted her off of me so that I could slip out from under her without jostling her. He set her back down, tucking the blanket back around her. She shifted a bit but never woke up.

"Jacob…" she mumbled. My heart completely melted. She knew I wasn't there.

"I need to speak with you," Edward whispered.

I nodded and followed him into the kitchen. I positioned myself in a chair so that I could keep an eye out in case Ness woke up. I didn't want her to wake up and feel abandoned, but we could speak normally here.

"What's up, Edward?" I asked, finally taking my eyes off of the lump under the blanket.

He took a deep breath, which I knew he didn't have to do. That meant he was nervous or anxious about something. He chuckled, hearing my thoughts. "It's the second one. Bella and I have spoken about this, and Bella finally agrees."

That had me worried. "What is it? What's going on?"

"I noticed that you noticed that something is…different with Renesmee. Much more different than when you noticed she had matured into a woman."

Well that was a great memory. I had had that day off from patrols, so I was raiding the fridge around lunch time. I had missed Nessie that morning because I'd slept down at my house instead of the Cullens'. Edward had told me that she and Bella had gone shopping for a few necessities. Those had been his exact words. I hadn't thought anything of it, until Nessie walked through the door. Her normal scent was there, but it was mixed with something else. If sexual maturity had a scent, that would have been it. That had been the day that my wolf instincts had told me to take her. I could feel myself blush coming out of that memory…dammit.

"Do you know what that something different is with her?" I finally asked after the heat in my cheeks died down.

"I do," he said, nodding. I knew there was something else he wanted to say. It was there in the way he held himself. So I waited. "I think…I mean, Bella and I think that you should talk to her now. Tell her what you need to tell her."

For a moment, I didn't understand. I just looked at him.

Then, he said just one word that literally almost froze my blood in my veins. "Imprinting."

I felt my jaw drop. Speechless did not even begin to cover what I was at that moment. "But…But I thought that you wanted me to wait," I stammered out. "I thought you wanted her to choose me first."

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose like he had a headache. I almost snorted. He couldn't get headaches…could he? Great, now I was rambling inside my own head.

"What is it, Edward? What's changed?" I was on the edge of my seat. Something was going on with my Nessie, and I didn't know what it was. It scared me.

His eyes snapped open, and I knew that I had asked the right question. "She _has_ chosen, Jacob."

That made me straighten up. "What? When? Who?" I tried to think furiously of any guy that had taken an interest in her, or any guy that she had taken an interest in. There were none that I could come up with on such short notice.

Edward looked at me like I was dense. "You, Jacob. She's chosen you, but she doesn't quite realize it yet. There's never been anybody else but you. Most teenage girls at least have a celebrity crush, but not her. It's just you."

My heart accelerated. So, I had been right about the dream. Her feelings were changing. She chose me…Wait a sec. "What do you mean she hasn't realized it yet?"

"I think it all began with those dreams. Now, she's seeing you dead in them. It's almost too much for her body here in reality to deal with it. Her heart stutters, and her breathing is broken. That last night was the night that she dreamed about seeing you dead. All of the other times it was her searching for you. The morning of the day that you came home was the day she'd had thoughts of you that were never in her forethoughts before."

He stopped, tilting his head toward the living room. He looked as if he were listening to something. I couldn't hear anything, so I knew he was watching her dreams again.

This gave me time to think. She'd unconsciously chosen me. What did that even mean? Where did that leave me?

"Wait, I thought she could," I made a waffling motion with my hands, "I don't know, shield her thoughts from you. How do you know she was having abnormal thoughts about me?"

He ignored me, still listening to her. After a moment, he looked back to me. Apparently, she was fine. "When it comes to you, now, her thoughts are so strong that they leak. That, or her shield is cracking. Her concentration is straining, because she's trying to figure out how she feels about you. But what's odd is that she can control it when you're around. It's almost as if she's weaker when you're away from her." He smiled as if he were remembering something. "She caught herself thinking about how decent she wanted to look for you in case you came home that day.""

That caught me by surprise. "Really? Wow." I scratched my head mainly for something to do. "I guess that is something."

Edward shook his head, grinning. "If you think that's something, I don't think you should hear the rest."

I scooted closer to him. "What? What did she think?" I wanted to know, but then again, I didn't.

He was grinning again. "As her father, I shouldn't think this amusing, but somehow it reminds me a bit of me and Bella."

I raised my eyebrows. Maybe I didn't want to know about this.

He went on anyway. "She thinks that, for an older guy, you are very attractive."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed out loud. Edward joined in with his barely audible chuckle.

I chuckled again as I came back to the here and now. We'd had to end the conversation there because our laughing had woken Nessie up. She'd gotten mad at me for leaving her there alone. I should have known she would.

"What's so funny?" she asked me now. We were on the couch watching Emmett and Alice play video games. She'd been scooting closer to me for the better part of ten minutes. My arm twitched, wanting to wrap around her shoulders and pull her to my side. But I managed to control my mutinous limb. Her feet were drawn up under her, her hands between her thighs trying to warm them, and her head on my shoulder.

I shook my head. "Nothing. I was just remembering a conversation that your dad and I had."

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Really? And it was that funny?"

"Actually, yes. I thought it was, and so did he."

She gave me another look. "Jacob Black, you are so very odd sometimes."

Alice had to chime in, "That makes him one of us. If you haven't noticed, we are the weirdest family I think anyone will ever see."

She had a point. But she was definitely right. We were a family.

**RPOV**

The snow days curled up against Jacob were absolutely perfect. However, one tiny detail could have made them better than perfect, if there was such a thing. That one detail was if I could have told him how I feel about him, or at least try to talk my feelings out with him so that I could understand them. But something about him changed after he got back. It was like, now he didn't know how to act toward me. He was always glancing at me out of the corner of his eye and there was now tension between us that hadn't been there before. Come to think of it, he'd changed after I had been woken up by their laughter in the kitchen the second night he was back. Hmm, I sensed a connection.

He no longer gave me funny looks when I would say "I love you" with a slightly different tone in my voice. We'd always told each other we loved each other since I was little. At the end had always been an implied "as a best friend".

When I said it, I tried it out without the implication. I just stated it as a fact, and Jacob had given me a weird look at first, noticing the way I had said it. Now, no funny looks, but he would shift on his feet or in his seat, if he was sitting, like he didn't know how to reply to it.

But the night after he had come back, I woke up alone on the couch to find Jacob and my dad in the kitchen, laughing with each other. It was odd. Don't get me wrong, they got along just fine. It's just that lately daddy always seemed a little tense around Jacob, like he was trying not to hurt him for something he was thinking. Then, to see them laughing so casually together made me think that there was something going on besides sports talk and male bonding.

"So what do you want to do today?" Jacob asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I was curled up next to him staring off into the fireplace.

I looked up at him. "Oh, um,…"

He leaned over to kiss my hair, whispering in my ear, "Where were you just now? Your thoughts were a million miles away."

I smiled. "Nope, just a few days in the past. Not that far."

Jake pulled back to give me a look, but to his credit, he didn't ask. Instead, "Well, the snowing has stopped. We don't have to be cooped up in here all day. What do you want to do?"

"Well, seeing as how as soon as you came back, you got locked up in here, I'm sure your family would like to see you. Billy, Rachel, Sam and his pack, Emily, and Claire would all love to see you." I had seen them a few days before Jacob came back. Emily and Rachel both had big news to share, but they had wanted to wait for Jacob to come home to tell everybody. I knew because they were my best friends aside from Jacob and Shelby.

Jacob must have read my thoughts, or at least the look on my face. "I would have thought that you would want to go see Shelby. Both of you are done with school. You have tons of time to see each other now."

I snuggled closer to him. "Yeah, I know. But like you just said, we have plenty of time to see each other. Right now though, I think that we should go down to La Push. Some important things have happened in the five days you were gone."

He pulled away from me to look at my face. "Really? Like what?"

I grinned. "I can't tell you. It's not my thing to tell. I only had permission to tell you that some information was found out."

He groaned. "You did that on purpose because you know that I now have to get up and go there just to find out what you're talking about, you know that right?"

"Why do you think I said it?" I giggled.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, you are so infuriating." He leaned down to press his lips to my forehead. Just that little contact made me want to shiver. I wanted so much more from him.

From behind me, I heard a soft growl. Jacob glanced behind me. "What? I swear that wasn't me!"

I put a hand on his chest. "Relax, Jake. That was probably for me." He gave me a look which I returned with an apologetic smile and a blush. I gently slapped him. "C'mon, let's go down to the rez. You have people to visit."

**JPOV**

Ten minutes later we were both dressed and ready to leave. We couldn't leave through the first story doors seeing as how they were all packed with snow. I was standing under one of the spare bedroom windows, in the snow, watching Nessie chew on her lip. I don't think she realized how adorable she looked when she did that. As expected, there was a low growl in the house.

"I don't know, Jacob," she said uncertainly.

I smirked. "Please tell me you aren't afraid of heights?" She stuck her tongue out at me. I chuckled and held my arms out. "C'mon, I'll catch you. I promise."

"You won't drop me?"

"Ness, there's seven feet of packing snow out here. Even if I were to drop you, which I wouldn't, I doubt that you would get hurt." I waggled my hands at her. "Sweetie, I am not going to drop you. You're safe with me."

She looked at me as if she were measuring the truth in my words. Then she sighed. "Fine, but if you drop me or even pretend you're going to drop me, so help me…"

"What? What are you going to do?"

She grumbled incoherently, knowing that she couldn't make threats to save her life.

"That's what I thought," I said with a smirk.

She sat on the window ledge. "Just shut up and catch me."

"I'm just waiting on you, babe."

At my words, she stopped, blinking at me. I realized what I'd said. I'd called her a pet name that only couples would use. Just hearing from Edward that her feelings were changing for me had me acting all bold and stupid. Just freaking great.

I decided to ignore it. "C'mon. We need to go," I said softly.

She just nodded and jumped. As soon as I caught her, I set her on her feet and walked away with my hands in my pockets. I knew that she knew things were awkward now. She was unusually quiet.

"Jacob," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I don't mind that you called me that. It's ok."

I shook my head. "No, it's not. It's a pet name. You aren't a pet."

She didn't say anything back. I looked back to see her standing there, staring after me. Our eyes met, and I could see more of the change in her. She was shy around me now, the way some girls were around boys that they liked. That was new. Her face flushed, whether from the cold or something else entirely, I didn't know.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me, or are you coming?" I asked, smirking, and turning away from her again. I tried my hardest to play it off, because more than anything I wanted to run back, sweep her into my arms, and kiss her. I wanted to spill my heart and guts out to her. It was harder for me not to do than any man would like to admit.

With my sensitive hearing, I could hear the snow puff up with her feet as she darted to my side. To my immense surprise, I felt her small hand wrap around my much bigger one. At first I didn't respond. When she felt my hesitation, she pulled her hand away again.

"Sorry," she whispered. "My hands were cold."

I grabbed her hands in mine. "I'm sorry, Ness. I didn't mean to snap. It just felt wrong to call you that." But that wasn't true. It had felt good to call her that. A name only a boyfriend would call his girlfriend, the girl he loved. It was a possessive name, and me being an alpha male seemed to make me extremely territorial.

"Apparently it didn't feel too wrong. It just rolled off your tongue naturally." She didn't look at me when she said it.

I sighed. "Ness-"

She cut in. "What were you and dad talking about the other night?"

I was ready for this one. I'd been thinking about it since that night. "We were talking about old times, when you were younger. That one time that you dressed up as a snowman outside, and we couldn't find you for an hour." I chuckled. "You scared the hell out of us."

**RPOV**

He was lying. I knew it, and he knew it.

I was just about to call him on it when I smelled something. When it hit my nose, I had an instant headache. I was just human enough to get those. I looked at Jake and knew he could smell it, but because I'm a girl, I still had to ask.

"Jacob?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you smell that?" I asked quietly.

He didn't say anything, but I saw him nod slightly out of the corner of my eye.

"C'mon," he finally said, grabbing my hand and pulling me in the opposite direction of the reservation.

I didn't ask where we were going. I knew that he was following his nose. The further we went into the woods, the stronger the smell intensified. Eventually, we came across a small clearing, and my head felt like it had been pierced with an ice pick. I knew it had to be killing Jacob, but he never showed any signs other than the wrinkling of his nose.

When we rounded a tree to take us into the clearing, I gasped and placed a hand to my mouth. A big buck was lying there, torn to pieces. There was blood on the snow and snow-covered shrubs around him. His skin had been ripped to shreds. Pieces of it were strewn across the forest floor.

But what caught at me were his eyes. They were open, black, and empty. Just like the russet wolf from my dream.

Jacob growled deep in his chest. "Your family hasn't hunted lately, have they?" He'd let go of my hand to step closer to the dead animal, walking around it in inspection.

I shook my head. "No. And even if they had, they wouldn't have torn the carcass up that way. And they also wouldn't have left it there. Any member of my family would have pulled it to an inconspicuous area, not leave it here in the open."

Jacob was in alert mode now. If he had been in his wolf form, I knew that his ears would be perked up and his nose would be sniffing a mile a minute. His eyes looked away from the buck, searching the woods around us. I did the same. Nothing moved.

Finally, Jacob came back to me and took my hand. "Come on, let's get out of here. There's nothing here."

He hauled me off into the woods back in the direction of La Push.

"What do you think did that?" I asked, watching his face as a crease formed between his eyes and his brow knitted together.

He shook his head. "I don't know. Wolves, maybe?"

"It couldn't be. They don't come around here what with you guys being here." I shrugged. "Their instincts tell them that something bigger and stronger lives around here. They won't risk it."

"You're right," he said, nodding. "I'll talk to Sam about it. See if he's smelled that stench before on a patrol."

We walked in silence as both of us contemplated what could have possibly left that smell behind. Eventually, we walked down the narrow main road until we came to the small turn off to the Black house. We both slipped and slid on the ice that covered the road, grasping onto each other's hands, and laughing while keeping ourselves upright. The scene we had just witnessed was temporarily forgotten.

I was hoping that Jacob's mood would improve, but I knew it wouldn't when he slipped and fell down hard, taking me with him. His long legs had reached out to tangle with mine. My feet went out from under me causing me to land on him. I sat down hard on his lap. I had no illusions about what was under me. I hoped I hadn't hurt him. When I looked up into his eyes, our lips were mere millimeters apart.

I knew that Jake had noticed my new reactions toward him, and they apparently made him uncomfortable. I was beginning to understand what my dad had meant about me finding out about Jake's feelings on my own. Apparently, so far, he didn't reciprocate them.

Knowing that he noticed my change in attitude and was uncomfortable with it, I quickly rolled off of him to sit next to him on the ice.

"Sorry," I mumbled and stood up.

"Ness," he called, grabbing for my hand. "It's ok. We just tripped up."

I tugged a smile onto my face before turning back to him. "I know. It's ok. Now come on. Everybody's waiting for us."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed. I'll try to not make the chapters too long, unless you guys ask.**


	6. Author's Note

Hey, guys. I just wanted to stop in and explain something that I didn't cover in the story. In the beginning Jacob was up north at the Makah reservation. If you recall in Eclipse when Billy was telling the legends, the Makahs had asked the help of the Quileute wolves to protect them from the "cold ones". I'm supposing that there was some sort of peace treaty between the tribes. And my thinking would be that the Makahs wouldn't be too thrilled with the wolves being in alliance with the Cullens, so Jacob is trying to keep the peace. And it's more for the benefit of the Makahs seeing as how La Push is well protected. Also they want the treaty so that the packs will know if anything is coming long before it does. So I hope that clears that up. Maybe I could fit in somewhere down the road. Jacob leaving will come back up and Nessie won't be too happy about it.

And chapter six is on its way. I promise.


	7. Chapter 6

**Ok, ok. Here's chapter 6. A little wolf pack family time was in order. Now, as I told one of my reviewers, this whole complication, torturous feelings stuff ****_is_**** going to continue for a while. Why, you may ask? This, like the Twilight Saga, is more of a romance story. That's why I didn't put the genre of action on this puppy. Jacob and Nessie's issues can't just be cured in a couple chapters. There has to be heartache and tears to get to the better stuff. **

**Now, for this chapter. This is one of my favorites. We get more into the pack structure and kind of how it's set up. And Jacob begins to have a vision for the future. In a manly way, of course. And he gets a couple surprises.**

**Enjoy!**

**Do I really have to say that I don't own the Twilight world? Because I don't, sadly enough.**

**JPOV**

She didn't have me fooled. I knew something was bothering her. It was probably my reactions to her. I really didn't know whether to trust Edward or not. He was right, she had changed, but I didn't know how to do this. For nine years I had been nothing but a big brother/best friend/protector toward her. Now, according to her father, she was feeling something different. Not to say that I didn't want her to feel that way about me, but it seemed that all of this was happening too fast.

Edward and Bella both wanted me to tell her that I had imprinted on her. But first, I would have to tell her what imprinting was and all that it implied. Could I really do that? How would she react?

I didn't know. So for now, I just kept my mouth shut, and, in so doing, kept things awkward between us.

We made our way into my house, which was noticeably empty.

"I'm gonna go change," I said. "That smell is clinging to me. You might wanna change, too. I know you still have some clothes here from when you stayed with Rachel."

She nodded. "Yeah, sure."

As she made her way down the hall to the guest room, I headed for my tiny broom closet of a room. I quickly shed my shirt and sweats, reaching for a pair of cut-offs. The clothes I'd just taken off I shoved into a bag for Sam to take a whiff so he could be on the lookout for it on patrols.

About a minute later, I saw Nessie lean against the door frame. She looked beautiful wearing one of my old hoodies from before my growth spurt and a holey pair of jeans that fit her well. My hoodie nearly swallowed her. It fell almost to her knees, and completely engulfed her hands. She didn't roll them up because apparently she thought it would look funny. Her bronze curls were damp hanging around her face and flowing down her back. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth, and her brow was furrowed. She was thinking about something.

Slowly she looked up, and our eyes met. She'd caught me looking causing her cheeks to flush.

I cleared my throat and blinked rapidly.

"Where is everybody?" she asked obviously trying not to make this even more of an awkward situation.

"They," said a voice from the front door area, "are all over at Sam's house. Not that you couldn't have guessed that."

Paul strode into sight, standing behind Nessie. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, kid. Good to see you again." She turned around and gave him a hug.

I could feel a growl beginning deep in my chest. I stopped it before it could become audible. What the hell was wrong with me? Was that jealousy? That was insane. Paul would never do that, not to mention that he had imprinted on my sister. Great, now that I knew I could actually have the feelings that I'd been told not to share with her, I was going to get jealous of any guy that went near her. Oh, boy.

Taking a deep breath, I rotated my shoulders. _Shake it off, Black,_ I thought to myself. _Shake it off._

"It's not like I wasn't here a few days ago, Paul. You couldn't have missed me that much." She giggled. It was a beautiful sound, like bells chiming.

He gently tugged on one of her curls. "Please, Ness. You are as much a part of our huge family as Jake over there is. Besides, three days is a long time. Especially with Rach nagging me all the time."

Okay, I was confused. But Nessie obviously understood what he was talking about. She giggled furiously.

"Paul, she's excited."

Paul's eyes flicked to me. I raised my eyebrows. He didn't answer my unvoiced question. Instead he continued his mysterious conversation with Ness. "I don't know why. It's nothing _that_ special."

"Oh, please," she said, slapping him playfully. "You're just as excited. I know you are."

"Okay, is either one of you going to tell me what you two are talking about? Why is Rachel excited? Why is she nagging you?"

"I'll explain when we get to Sam's." He walked into the room to stand in front of me. "It's good to have you back, Black." He held his fist out in front of him. I pounded my fist to his.

"It's good to be back. Now, let's get to Sam's so I can figure out what that conversation was all about, shall we?"

"Yeah, but first, what the hell is that smell?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.

I had forgotten about the clothes in my arms. "Oh, Ness and I came across it in the woods on our way here. When we followed it we came across something weird. We'll tell you about it when we're around everyone else."

Before we left, I went in search of Nessie's clothes to take back to the Cullens so that they could be on the lookout when they went hunting. I placed them in a bag so that the smell wouldn't be as potent. I would leave mine with Sam and the pack. The need to protect both of my families burned in the back of my mind.

As we headed out onto the icy roads, Nessie took hold of my right hand with her left and her other hand wrapped around my arm to keep her balance. She rested her head against my arm. Her fingers were freezing against my skin. I knew that the normal temperatures of Forks didn't bother her, but I didn't once consider that colder, or warmer for that matter, weather would bother her. I should have made her put on more layers before we left. But she clung to me, her body brushing mine as we walked. I have to admit that I didn't mind at all. I gripped her hand in mine to let her know that I still enjoyed the contact.

When we turned down the drive to the Uley home, I could see Emily standing on the porch in a heavy-looking homemade shawl. Sam stood by her side with his arms wrapped around her. They were both smiling as they watched us walk up. Paul rushed ahead of us as Rachel came into the doorway to meet him on the porch.

When we reached them, Emily was the first to get to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and put her ear to my chest. A fluttering sound caught my attention. I had no idea where it was coming from, but I guessed it was something in the woods. It sounded too faint to be nearby. I'd heard it before around here. Maybe it was just a bird.

"Hey, Jacob. It's so good to have you home." She pulled back to look at me. "I know you've been in Forks for a few days, but it's still good to have you here. We've missed you. Why on earth did you stay away so long?"

I glanced at Ness, who was hugging Sam. "Well, I was told to stay as long as I needed in order to get things done quicker." I chucked her under the chin. "But don't worry. I won't do that again. I was away from my family for far too long."

"Yes," said a voice I recognized well, "you were."

I turned to find Rachel standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at me. Then she broke into a grin, started running, and jumped on me much like Ness had done when she first figured out I was back. I grabbed her up into my arms and hugged her for all I was worth.

"Geez, Rach, I was only gone for five days. You were away at college for years."

She pulled back. "True, but your job is much more dangerous than mine." She slapped me on the side of the head. "Not to mention that your idiotic self decided to come back on the day that the storm hit."

"Hey, in my defense, I didn't know that there was a storm coming. I felt it on my way back." I looked over to Sam as I set my sister back on her feet. "I left because…"

Sam held up a hand, silencing me. "I don't need to know. You are the rightful Alpha. What you do and why you do it is your business."

Okay. That made me feel nervous but it was something Sam always said to me. I knew he was pushing me to take over his pack, too, so that I could take my place as rightful Alpha to all the wolves of La Push. But I wouldn't because I knew that not all of them agreed with the very easy alliance I and my pack had with the Cullens, and I wouldn't force an order onto them for them to befriend that which was our natural enemy. They, however, knew enough not to provoke an attack against them.

"Enough talk," Emily said. "We should go inside. It's cold out here, and we have news for everybody."

That piqued my interest. Nessie and I waited with me as the rest turned to go inside. It seemed out of reflex, but I had to touch her. I reached out and took Nessie's hand. Her face showed surprise before it turned into an easy smile. This smile, I knew, was not forced. She liked it when I surprised her.

I gave her the most Jacob-y grin I could find, and she smiled back. It felt like my heart was doing tiny flips in my chest. Maybe, just maybe, this would all turn out ok. God, I hoped so.

We filed into the house last behind everybody else. Sam and I, along with both of our packs, had built on two extra wings to the house. They weren't huge but they allowed for most of both packs to fit into the house without sitting on one another. A lot of the pack members were gathered in the house. Only a few looked as confused as I felt, but the others had secretive smiles on their faces like they already knew what was going on.

"Uncle Jacob!" a small voice called out. I knew immediately that it was Claire long before she shoved her tiny form through the crowd. She was only eleven years old, but boy, did that girl have an attitude. Not like a prissy attitude, more like a don't-mess-with-me-unless-you-want-a-broken-face attitude. She'd gotten it from years of being around Quil, though he wasn't as aggressive as he had been before she crawled her way into his life when she was just two years old. She had stayed there ever since because he had imprinted on her. Claire learned to be tough by hanging around a pack of werewolves all her life. I knew that I wouldn't want her mad at me.

Speaking of her being mad, her face was puckered up in a sour expression, and her lips were pursed. I do believe she was about to give me a piece of her mind.

"Clairebear, be nice," Quil said, coming up behind her. "Jake would have been here three days ago, but he got caught up in that storm and had to stay with the Cullens. It's not his fault."

She huffed then grinned. "It's ok, Uncle Jake. I forgive you."

I grinned back. "Thanks, Claire. So…does Uncle Jake get a hug?" I had to let go of Nessie's hand to open my arms slightly in front of me. Claire acted like she had to think about it, and then she launched herself into my arms.

I'd become Uncle Jake because Claire was Emily's niece. Since Sam and Emily were like brother and sister to me, I quickly became an uncle just like the rest of them, except Quil of course.

She quickly wiggled out of my grasp to go hug Ness. Though Ness was biologically two years younger than Claire, she looked to be about seven or eight years older than Claire. To my complete surprise, Claire never questioned Nessie's growth or age. She'd just gone along with it. I knew that Nessie and Claire both considered each other to be sisters. They acted like it.

And though Nessie was half vampire, she was allowed on the reservation. The other wolves and I had gathered the tribe for an introduction right after the Volturi had gone back to Italy. There had been an uncomfortable silence as I stood there holding a hybrid-vampire in my arms while the rest of the Cullens walked into the room at one of our community centers. But after Carlisle had explained more about what type of vampire they were, and how they had fought beside the wolves to protect Forks and our reservation, the Quileutes had come to the decision that we didn't have to have the treaty with them. The Cullens were now allowed to come and go as they pleased. That, at first, had made the newer wolves a little uncomfortable but they had gotten used it fairly fast.

Nessie had been a big part of that. With her gift, she had shown the newer wolves that hadn't been there to see the Volturi what happened. She quickly won the hearts of the tribe and the new wolves.

There hadn't been any new wolves since that year. When the Volturi brought their entire guard, it triggered the change in a lot of the young males and, surprisingly, some females in the tribe. Though some had been older than my sixteen years at that time. After the town meeting, Sam and I had split up the numbers for our packs. We now had almost the same number. His pack ran patrols around the reservation, while mine ran circuits on the fringes of Forks, including the Cullen house and Edward and Bella's cottage. We were as safe as we were ever going to get. Not to mention that the Cullens had friends out there that we could call if we needed help.

Now, at least most of both packs were gathered in or around the house. Whatever was said, they would hear it. The two pack members that were taking over the couch, Derek and Adam, got up and gestured for me and Nessie to sit down. We did, but this felt oddly formal. Claire sat down between me and Nessie's legs, and wrapped one arm around my left leg, and one arm around Nessie's right.

An odd thought came into my mind then. What would it be like if it were my child sitting like that with us? Nessie's child? That led to other thoughts of Nessie being pregnant, round with my child. It was a beautiful image, one that I wanted to come true…That's it, I really needed to shake myself out of this. _One freaking day at a time, Black. What's wrong with you?_ I screamed at myself. _Geez, if Edward were here, he'd rip your head off. Get a grip._

I watched as Nessie started stroking Claire's hair between us. Claire rested her head against Nessie's thigh, and sighed in content. The images in my head got stronger.

Nessie's hand paused on the glossy black hair. I looked up at her, and realized that she was looking at me worriedly.

"Jacob? Are you ok?" she asked.

I blinked rapidly a couple times. "Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to play it off. "I guess those lazy days of doing nothing are getting to me. I must have zoned out."

"Oooook? Well snap out of it. They've got news to share," she said, gesturing toward Paul, Rachel, Emily, and Sam standing in the middle of the living room.

I spread one arm back across the couch, resting my fingers in Nessie's curls. I also sat up straighter. "Alright. I'm ready. Hit me with it."

Rachel turned to Emily. "Can I go first? Your news is bigger than mine, so we better leave it for last."

Emily made a go ahead gesture. "If you want."

"Ok." Rachel straightened herself up. Paul grabbed her right hand in his left, and she brought her other hand up to put on over their joined hands. That's when I saw it.

When she saw my eyes widen, she nodded and grinned like an idiot. "That's right! Paul finally asked me to marry him!"

My fingers stilled in playing with Nessie's hair. I don't know why I was acting like this was a surprise. I knew it was inevitable, but I didn't think it would happen now. But Paul _had_ been saving up to buy her an engagement ring. He'd been working in the only auto garage on the rez with me, Seth, and Embry.

When I didn't move, Rachel's face started to lose its excitement. I quickly untangled myself from the two girls next to me and made my way over to her, grinning the whole way. I was really happy for her. As much as I fought with Paul, I knew she loved him, and he loved her. I scooped her up into a hug and swung her around.

"That's so great, Rach! Really, I'm happy for you!" I set her down on her feet. "Now, let me see the ring."

She wiggled her hand up at me. I grabbed it to still her fingers. I was surprised that it wasn't my mother's ring. I knew dad had kept it. He hadn't passed it to Rachel or Rebecca before her. But this ring wasn't over the top, and it also wasn't some cheap piece of crap. Three diamonds were nestled in the middle of a silver band.

I turned to Paul. "You did great, man. And I must say that it's about damn time!" I didn't care about the manly thing to do; I just hugged him and slapped his back. The room erupted into howls and congratulations. "This may be a little early, but welcome to the family, man."

"Thanks." He lowered his voice so that the cheering wolves drowned him out, "So the ring is good? It's not too much?"

I grinned. "Nope. It's perfect."

He looked relieved.

"Jake, I need to ask you something though, and so does Paul." She looked at Paul like she expected him to go first. The room quieted down.

"Oh, right." He swept a hand through his hair. "Well, um, I guess I wanted…I mean I'd understand if you said no, but I just wanted…"

"Paul, spit it out," Emily said, impatiently. I guess she wanted to get to her news.

He gave her a mock glare. "Fine." Paul looked into my eyes. "I wanted to know if you would be my best man? It would be an honor for me because, though I'm in Sam's pack, we all know who the rightful Alpha is. And it would be an honor for the brother of my bride to be my best man."

I was beyond shocked. But Rachel was my sister and she loved him more than anything. If I said no, it would break her heart. It would also hurt Paul, not something I wanted to do because I did love him like a brother.

"Of course, Paul. It would be my honor to stand next to you up there." After I slapped him on the shoulder in a meaningful way, I turned to look at Ness. "I don't remember you telling me the news would be this good."

She shrugged. "I didn't know about the best man part. I just knew he'd asked her to marry him, because she didn't get the ring off fast enough in front of me."

We all chuckled. She was a detail kind of person.

"Now, I have two questions," Rachel interrupted. "One for Ness and one for Jacob."

We all turned to look at her. She first turned to Nessie. "Since Jacob has agreed to be best man, I was hoping that you would agree to be my Maid of Honor?"

Nessie just sat there for a second the way I had. I don't even think she was breathing. "But-but…" she stuttered. She took a deep breath. "But I thought that Emily was your best friend?"

Emily laughed. "Oh, please. Like Jacob would want to wait for a giant pregnant lady to waddle down the aisle with him and his abnormally long legs."

I nearly choked on the drink Sam had just handed me.

"Not to mention," Emily continued, "that Sam is going to be standing up there with Paul, Jacob, and Seth. So I'll be walking with him."

I was still trying not to choke. "Emily?"

"Yes?" she asked with a big grin on her face.

"Are-are you pregnant?" I asked, looking between her and Sam. Obviously, I already knew the answer. She'd just admitted to it in a roundabout way.

She nodded fervently. "Yep. About a month along."

I thought about that. I looked up at Sam. "So, I'm not crazy? Can you hear…?"

He grinned. "You're not crazy."

Rachel looked between all of us. "Wait, you guys can hear the baby?"

"Yeah, the heartbeat, anyway," Nessie chirped up.

"You can hear it, too?" I asked. For some reason, this surprised me.

She gave me a look as if to say "duh, Jake."

I blushed. "Right, sorry. I keep forgetting you're half vampire."

She smiled. "It's ok, Jake. I'll just keep reminding you."

"So?" came Rachel's voice.

We all turned to her. "So what?" Seth asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Will you be my Maid of Honor?"

Nessie launched herself off the couch and wrapped her arms around Rach. "Of course I will! I would love to!" Then she pulled back. "Does that mean I get to help plan the wedding?" She looked almost scared.

Rach looked confused. "Yeah, why?"

Nessie pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "You know my Aunt Alice would love to plan your wedding. She loves weddings."

"Well, it didn't occur to me that she would want to plan something for me and Paul, you know, since Paul's one of the pack."

Nessie pulled back. "Rachel, my family loves all of you. We would do anything for you. All you have to do is ask."

I had to step in. Ness looked like she wanted to cry. "She's right, Rach. It does seem like the pack is the antagonistic group."

"You mean my pack," Sam spoke up. He didn't sound mad, just stated it as a fact.

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yeah. That is one reason our packs are split. The wolves that are more wary of the Cullens had first dibs to stay with you. Then we split the ones who didn't care either way."

A few of the wolves shifted restlessly. Nessie stepped into the middle of the room. "Enough, guys." Then she turned to Rachel. "Rach, I would love to be your Maid of Honor. I just wanted you to be aware that there was another option. But I'm sure that, if you need anything at all for the wedding, my family would be happy to help out with the costs. Don't hesitate to ask me, though."

Rachel smiled. The wolves calmed down. "Thanks, Nessie. I'll keep that in mind." Paul pulled her off to the side to talk quietly while the packs started to talk amongst themselves. Nessie and I headed back for the couch to catch up with Seth and Leah.

After about an hour of chit-chatting, I could tell that Nessie was starting to get tired. We'd been out for a while and it had taken us a while to follow that trail to the clearing. Emily and Sam had gone outside to talk in private for about five minutes. I gave a questioning look to both of them but they both just smiled. Weird.

After their chat, Emily had sat on the couch to play with Nessie's hair. That always made her sleepy. Her head was resting in Emily's lap, her ear pressed to Emily's stomach, listening to the baby's heartbeat.

Before I picked Nessie up from the couch, I turned back to Rachel. "Hey, what was the other thing you wanted to ask me?"

She looked up at me from talking to Paul. "Oh, um, I was going to ask if you would walk me down the aisle."

My mind completely blanked out. "But…but," I stammered. "Rachel, what about dad? You know he would love to be the one to do that. If he couldn't, you could walk down by yourself."

She shook her head. "Jacob, dad and I have talked about this. He said that he would love it if you would do it. Besides, I want to be given away, not walk down all alone." I saw tears fill her eyes. "Mom left us, her daughters, me and Rebecca, all alone. I can't walk down the aisle to get married all alone. Rebecca did that, and she regrets it so much. But dad wants us to be close. He was the one to suggest it anyway." She came up to me and placed her hand over my heart. "I want _you_ to be the one to give me to Paul. You're his Alpha."

I stared into her tear-filled eyes. My resolve broke. I placed my hand over her hand on my heart. "Ok, Rach, ok. I'll do it for you."

She threw her arms around my neck, burying her face in my shoulder. "Thank you, Jacob. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I love you, Rach. I'll do anything for you. You should know that." When I opened my eyes, not realizing I had closed them, I saw Nessie sitting up on the couch watching me. She had a small smile on her face, like she was going to cry. I knew she was an emotional person and Hallmark moments made her cry, but I didn't think this was one of those moments. Maybe it's just 'cause I'm a guy.

I pulled away from her. "It's getting late, and Ness is tired." She conveniently yawned when I said that. "Not to mention, the roads are freezing again." It had started to snow again while we were all in here talking. The packs had filed out to run their patrol shifts. I had forgotten about the clothes. I guess I could talk to Sam about that tomorrow.

I held my hand out to Nessie. She made her way sleepily to me, taking my hand.

As we made our way to the door, telling everyone good night, Sam stopped me. "Jake, wait. Emily and I also have a question for you."

I turned back to them with Nessie wrapped around my arm and her body leaning against mine. She was wiped out. I gently separated her from my arm so that I could wrap it around her back to rest my hand on her waist. She curled herself against my side with her head buried against my chest.

"What is it, Sam?"

"Emily and I would like to know if you would do us the incredible honor of being our child's godfather?" he asked, voice clear.

This night was just full of fun surprises. They wanted me to do what?! This was a child they wanted me to take care of if something were to happen to them. I may be twenty-five but…a child? A kid?

But I had been thinking of having kids with Nessie earlier.

"Jake, I know it's a lot to take in and to ask of you. But honestly, I would not trust my child with anyone else if something were to happen to me or Emily. I know that if something were to happen to me, you would be there to help her. Besides, you know as well as I do that we imprint to carry on the gene." To that, my eyes widened. I had never mentioned imprinting around Nessie, and I felt her stiffen at my side. Sam continued. "Our child will and should carry that on. Eventually, I will stop phasing altogether to be with Emily. Our child may choose to never stop, and," he glanced at Nessie, "I know that you may also make that same choice."

I knew Nessie was awake enough to catch what he had said. Her arms tightened around my waist while she buried her face more into my chest. I reflexively tightened my hold on her, crushing her more against me.

"Sam, I-I mean…why me?" He'd just answered that question, but I still couldn't wrap my head around it.

He chuckled. "It's ok if you say no. I just thought of you when it came to the protection of my family. I thought that you would understand a little better having adopted a family you hadn't expected." He gestured at himself and Emily. "You know that this baby is a surprise to us. We've been trying for a while. We had almost given up."

I shook my head. I was crazy for even having to think about this. "I'm sorry, Sam. Of course I'll do it. You're right. I guess I do know how you feel." I held out my hand to him since I couldn't hug him with Nessie wrapped around me. Sam came forward and took my forearm, and I grasped his in return.

"Thank you, Jacob." He smiled, and looked down at Nessie. She was practically asleep on her feet. "It's been a long day for the both of you. You should get her home to a warm bed." He leaned down to kiss her hair. "Good night, sweetie."

She mumbled something unintelligible back.

"You're right. I need to get her home." I looked around at the wolves that were left, waiting to take their patrol shifts. "I'll be back down tomorrow." I looked back to Sam. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

He nodded, understanding the serious tone in my voice. I said the rest of my and Nessie's good nights while I carried most of her weight against my side. Emily ran to the hall closet to grab a blanket. She wrapped it around Nessie, and then I picked her up in my arms. There was no way I could have climbed all the way back to the Cullen house with her latched to my side like she had been. It was going to be bad enough just carrying her like this. The snow was coming down fast with the flakes the size of quarters and half-dollars. Not that the snow bothered me. It probably wouldn't even bother Nessie because she was being held tightly to my chest. As soon as the flakes touched me, they melted. Hell, I doubted they even touched me.

Just in case, though, I kept Nessie's face tucked down into the blanket and close to my chest. I bent my head over her.

I was on the main road back to Forks when I got a spine tingling rush that raised the hair on my arms and made goosebumps rise along my body. The feeling I had was that of being watched. Not daring to stop walking, my eyes darted here and there, searching for any movement in the surrounding woods. There was nothing except for the occasional branch falling due to the added weight of snow. I discreetly sniffed the air. It was crisp and clean; however, I was upwind. Nothing was going to reach me. But I never ignored what my body was telling me. Someone or something was watching me, us.

_Edward,_ I thought as I came into the clearing where the house was settled. _There's something out here. Nessie's asleep in my arms._

Not two seconds later, the door swung open. Edward was silhouetted in the doorway with Emmett and Jasper standing behind him. They came out to meet me.

"Take her inside," Edward said in a no nonsense tone. He quickly bent down to kiss her forehead, and then was off with his brothers into the woods.

I made my way up the porch steps when Bella appeared in the doorway. "Jacob? What's going on? Edward said that you said someone was out there."

I shook my head. "It's nothing, Bells. I just wanted something checked out. I got a weird feeling walking back up here. That's all. No need to be alarmed."

I knew she didn't believe me, but she let it go. "Ok, well, Seth told me to tell you that they spread the patrol area out. He said something about a weird scent."

So they had found it. I figured they would. Seth made the right decision. That's why he was second in command of my pack. He usually made good decisions. I must have done something that betrayed my outward calm because she got all motherly on me, crossing her arms over her chest and giving me a glare.

"Jacob Black, what is going on?" Now she treated me like a child that had just been caught lying.

Nessie stirred in my arms when a particularly strong gust of wind made its way onto the porch. "Can I please get her inside? She's dead tired, Bells."

Bella looked down to her daughter resting in my arms, and then back up to me. She stepped to the side, gesturing inside. "Fine, but we're going to talk, Jacob. We need to know what's going on."

Slowly, so as not to wake Nessie, I carried her sideways into the house. The door closed behind me as I made my way to the stairs. Alice stepped out of the kitchen as I was passing it with a look on her face. She was trying to _see_ whatever there was to see.

"What happened?" she whispered.

Shaking my head, I dodged her easily, trying my best not to jostle the girl in my arms. Thankfully, I made it to the bedroom without being intercepted again. She rolled out of my arms easily. Her breathing was deep and even as I pulled the blanket away from her face. The peacefulness on her face made me smile. This was one of those moments where she wasn't hiding anything. I stroked her cheek gently, and she sighed contentedly, snuggling her body into the bed and her face into my hand.

"Jake?" Bella was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb.

"She's fine. We're fine. Just stay with her. Please," I whispered. Bella nodded before I leaned down to kiss Nessie's hair. She sighed again.

It took all of my willpower to leave her with Bella while I went back downstairs to meet Edward in the living room. Jasper and Emmett strode in a second later, shaking their heads.

"I take that to mean that you didn't find anything?" I asked. My muscles were so tense from being watched out in the open. I stretched my neck from side to side and rolled my shoulders, but it didn't help when the three men shook their heads.

"What happened, Jacob?" Edward asked.

"Did you catch a weird scent?"

They all nodded, eyes on me.

I sighed. "When Ness and I went out earlier, we caught that scent. We followed it to a small clearing and found a deer torn to shreds. Blood was everywhere." I played it in my head for Edward. He hissed as I remembered the smell. "Then, on my way back from Sam's, I felt like someone or something was watching me. I doubt those two weird things happening on the same day are completely coincidental."

Jasper said, "I think you're right. Something's here. What did you feel besides being watched?"

I thought about it. "I don't know. What are you looking for?"

"What did your instincts tell you? Was the feeling threatening or benign?"

"Definitely not benign." I thought back to it again and my stomach twisted. "Something keeps telling me that if I'd stopped, something would have happened. But I had Ness, so I didn't stop. I came straight here."

"Could you scent anything?" Edward asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. I was too far upwind."

We all looked at each other, our eyes saying what we wouldn't. Something was in our territory. And it wasn't friendly. By the way we were all looking at each other, we all had the same thought. The Volturi.

**RPOV**

I was right back in my dream. And I'd known the exact moment that Jacob was no longer touching me, because I was thrown into my nightmare with a force huge enough to crack my spine.

_I was currently tripping over the log, slipping, and grabbing onto the tree. I avoided looking in the direction of the giant russet wolf in fear that I might actually stop breathing this time. It was so dark here in the forest, but the small clearing was washed with moonlight._

_Wait- small clearing? Looking around, I found that this place was familiar. As recognition hit me, so did all of my senses. It was like there had been only sight in this nightmare, until now. Now, the scent from earlier crashed into me as I remembered the clearing that the smell had led to, the clearing that I was now standing in. My nose scrunched up, and I couldn't help but bring my eyes to the place where I knew the wolf was lying._

_Only now, it wasn't a wolf. My eyes widened when I saw Jacob's human form instead. My stomach heaved at the sight of his lifeless eyes staring at me, boring into me. My knees had buckled without my knowing and now, I pushed myself back up to run to him. His skin was cold, lips blue. I was crying, but also trying to breathe through a pain that I'd never felt before. It felt like my heart was breaking, literally, in my chest. I'd bitten my lip so as to keep the screams to small whimpers. _

_When my eyes reached his throat all thoughts of keeping quiet disappeared. I screamed one long, ragged scream after another. Where his skin should be smooth and russet, it was just raw meat and blood. I thought I could even see his spine. _

_Not being able to reach out and touch him, I wrapped my arms around my torso and tried to breathe through the screaming and tears. Then, something moved in the woods._

_I choked back my screaming with more effort than was pretty and wiped my eyes, looking around. There was nothing that I could see. A rustle came from the shrubs in front of me. Keeping my eyes there, I didn't sense anyone around me until an arm wrapped around my waist and jerked me back, with me screaming for Jacob, who could no longer answer me._

"NO!" I screamed myself awake and into a sitting position. "Jacob," I whispered through my furiously beating heart that had taken residence in my throat. I calmed down a little when I realized it was Mom's cold hand that was stroking the sweat from my forehead.

She was about to say something when the door to my room burst open with a loud thud.

* * *

**Now, I want you all to take a deep breath, aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnd, wait for the next chapter. I can only write so fast. xoxox**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7! Yay. And this is one of my absolute favorites. No matter what kind of issues and awkwardness there is, there is no questioning Jacob's instinct to be where Nessie needs him to be. I have to say that when I was writing this, and it might sound weird, but Jacob was actually talking to me. He's a pushover when it comes to her, but when it comes to her protection, he's willing to make her a little uncomfortable in order to perform his job better.**

**I really hope you sappy people enjoy this one. I found it quite sweet, even when Jake gets a little stern with her.**

**I still don't own the Twilight world. Sadly.**

**JPOV**

Emmett, Jasper, and I were standing there talking when I noticed Edward's expression change. He was listening to something, and I could almost guarantee that it was Nessie. I stretched my hearing upstairs. The one heartbeat I heard was in overdrive. A look of pain flashed over his face seconds before I heard her scream.

"NO!" That one word was filled with more pain and fear than I ever wanted her to feel. Then, I heard her whisper, "Jacob."

I was up the stairs and throwing the door open before she could even take another breath. Bella was there stroking Nessie's forehead, trying to calm her. As soon as Nessie saw me, she was off the bed and in my arms. My arms wrapped around her as tight as I dared hold her to me. We stood there for a long time. It could have been minutes, days, or years, and I wouldn't have noticed. I just held her tight and rocked her.

Tentatively, she pulled a little away so that she could look at me. Her hands ran from the back of my neck to my throat, smoothing over my skin as if she were making sure that it was still there. Her skin against mine was like coming home. You could just kick off your shoes and relax, not worry about anything until your muscles were nice and loose. Her skin was warm as it traced over mine with butterfly-soft touches.

From there, her fingers reached up to caress my lips. I had the strongest urge to gently kiss those fingers, but I held back. She was scared. Her heart was beating too fast for my liking.

"You're here," she whispered. "You're alive." Then, she placed her ear over my heart and her heart rate slowly started to decrease, calming me down a little. I licked my lips as soon as her eyes left mine. Not only did her skin feel like home, she tasted like it, too.

"Of course I'm here." I hugged her tighter to me, and her arms tightened around my waist. "I'm not going anywhere." I stroked her sweaty curls down her back and made soothing noises, every now and then placing a kiss to the top of her head.

Bella came up behind her and grasped her arms. "Why don't we get you back to bed, sweetie?"

Nessie's arms tightened around my waist significantly. "No!" she cried out. Her voice was muffled seeing as how her mouth was pressed to my chest.

Bella's eyes pleaded with me, begging me to get Nessie to lie down. I really didn't want to let go of Ness, but I desperately wanted to talk to Edward. This dream had been bad if her reaction was like this. I needed to find out. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Edward nod.

Grabbing Nessie's shoulders, I pulled her back with a little resistance from her to look her in the eyes. "Ness." She wouldn't look at me, probably embarrassed that she was crying. I felt like crap because I hadn't noticed her tears. "Ness, honey," I lifted her chin so she would meet my eyes. "Ness, why don't you go lie down?" Her eyes turned frantic as she stuttered. I pressed a finger to her lips. "Just lie down, get comfy. I need to talk to your dad for a moment, and then I'll be right back."

She just stared at me for a moment, weighing my words. My heart clenched when she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. I wanted so much to lean down and kiss her to show her that I was coming back for her. There was a sharp intake of breath from behind me. Had to be Edward, but to tell the truth, I was surprised that it wasn't a growl. Bless him, he was trying.

My attention was brought back to the scared young woman in my arms when she whispered, "Promise?"

Her cheek was warm when I pressed my palm to her face. She'd been the only thing that was ever warm to me since the day that I first phased. "I swear to you that I will be right back. You won't go back to sleep alone."

Her lip was back between her teeth when she nodded. I picked her up around the waist and carried her back to her bed. She stretched her legs out in order to lie down. The taste of salt clung to her skin when I kissed her forehead gently. A kiss that she leaned into, making my heart leap.

In order to rip myself away from her, I turned abruptly and nodded at Edward. _Let's get this done with so that I can get back up here to her. You need to tell me what that dream was about._

He nodded, kissed his daughter on the cheek, and followed me back downstairs. I turned the T.V. on and upped the volume so that Nessie wouldn't hear. She needed to calm down a little. I heard Edward say something really fast and two seconds later the room was filled with vampires. If I'd been in wolf form, I would have bristled. It was a shock that I quickly adjusted to as Rosalie smirked at me with a hand on her hip when I jumped a little at their quick appearance.

I turned to Edward. "What the hell happened?"

"That dream was bad." Edward's brow was furrowed, and he looked upset.

"What was it?" I had to resist the urge to kick him, knowing that it would probably hurt me more than him.

His golden eyes met mine. "You were dead in human form this time. With your throat ripped out."

So that's why she'd touched me.

"Jacob," he said, drawing my attention back to him. "Her heart broke. You were talking to Jasper and Emmett, but all my attention was on her the moment she recognized the clearing. Her heart literally stopped when she saw you, and it wasn't just for one beat. I was going to go up there, but then she started back up again because Bella shook her."

Needless to say, I was outraged. I stepped up to him. "You let her heart stop?!"

"She's fine, Jacob. It's happened before." He stepped into me, poking a finger in my chest. "You have no idea how hard it is for me to know that my little girl is up there dreaming of her soul mate dead in front of her. Every time you leave, these dreams get worse. But this time, that stench was there. It upped everything."

I stepped back, his words taking the oomph out of me. This had to be hard for him. His daughter was growing up so fast and, according to him, falling for me. Fast and hard.

"What do you mean, it upped everything?" Rosalie asked.

I sent a mental apology to Edward for getting in his face.

He nodded in response. "I don't think these dreams are coincidental. I think they're trying to tell us something. First, she recognized the small clearing that that smell led you to. Second, the scent forced everything to be stronger."

"Like what?" Emmett demanded from his place leaning against the back of the couch.

"Her senses. Always before, it was only sight. Now, she heard things, felt things, tasted things. I felt everything with her." Edward turned toward Jasper. "I'm surprised you didn't feel anything from her."

He shook his head. "I was too concentrated on Jacob's feelings from walking home. But I did catch the end of it when she screamed. Definite heartbreak." He stopped talking to tilt his head. "She's anxious. I think you should get back up there, Jacob. The rest of us will talk amongst ourselves and pass it on to you."

I nodded, my thoughts already upstairs with Ness. Edward breathed sharply again causing me to raise my eyes to him. _I know this is hard for you, Edward, but I love her. I need her. Seriously, I'm trying not to make this too hard for you, but you have to understand that I will marry her someday. That's the point of imprinting. To marry, to have children, to carry on the gene. Not to mention that you've already told me that she's chosen me. It's only a matter of time before she's mine in every way._

At the mention of having children, he glared at me, but surprisingly, no growl. He nodded tightly before motioning me toward the stairs with his head. I fled as soon as he nodded, racing up the stairs.

Bella was still with her, stroking her hair. "Thanks, Bells," I said, moving to take her place. Bella walked over to me, giving me a hug. She'd heard what Edward had said about that dream.

"I'm really glad that it was just a dream, even though it pains me that my daughter had to have it."

I hugged her back, briefly, before I crawled onto the bed beside Nessie. "Yeah, me too."

"Take care of her. Sleep well, you two."

Nessie gave a watered down smile to her mom. "I think I'll be ok now that Jake's here. I love you, Momma." My heart flew to know that she felt safe in my care. It was my job to take care of her, after all.

Bella smiled. "Love you, too. Both of you."

Then, she was gone and I was left with Nessie. Her eyes were red from crying, but her eyelids drooped, telling me that she was dead tired. She'd changed into sleep shorts and one of my old long-sleeved t-shirts. I couldn't help but notice that it hung off of one of her shoulders and that shoulder only had one strap from an undershirt, the girl version of the type of ribbed, tank undershirt that I wore. That meant no bra. I held back a shiver when I heard a growl from downstairs.

_Chill. I'm not going to ravish her right here and now. Geez. You look at Bells this way all the time. I mean damn. I'm a man in love. Men notice their women so shut up._

"What is it, Jake?" Nessie had a worried look on her face as her teeth tugged on her lower lip.

I smiled down at her, placing a finger against her lip. "You need to stop chewing on that. You'll chew a hole through it." My finger decided to smooth the space between her perfect chocolate brown eyes, making the frown disappear. "I'm fine. You just scared the life out of me when you screamed."

"Sorry," she whispered. "That dream just really scared me, Jake. I-I can't even stand the thought of you being hurt. You're my best friend in the entire world. What would I do without you?"

She looked very on the verge of tears. I pulled her to me while also pulling the blankets around her. I made sure to stay on top of the covers for my physical health and Edward's mental health. "Nessie, you have nothing to be sorry for. It was a dream. I'm just glad you woke up. And you will never be without me. I'll always be here, right here."

"Do you promise?"

"Why do you keep asking me that, Ness? Of course, I'll promise you anything, but isn't once enough?" I pulled back a little to see her face which was pressed into my neck. It took everything I had not to think about her breath caressing my skin.

She shrugged as best she could in my arms. "I don't know. I just thought that the weirdness between us was making you change your mind about being around me. You always keep your promises, but I have to hear you say it."

I couldn't help but hug her tighter. _You sweet, sweet girl! How could you ever think that I'd leave you?! You are so much more than perfect._

"Nessie, listen closely." My Alpha voice just sort of rose, trying to make her listen to me. She was smart, but sometimes she could be blind to the obvious. "I will never leave you, no matter how weird things get between us."

Ness brought her fingers back up to trace my lips again. "Promise me. Say it."

If I hugged her any tighter to me, she'd be fused to me. "I. Swear. It." My desire to kiss her fingers won out. Each word was punctuated with a kiss.

**RPOV**

Jake was so sweet. He'd promised me that nothing would make him leave me. Life was pretty much perfect, except for that dream. Just remembering it made me shiver in Jacob's arms. I mean obviously I wasn't cold. This was Jacob we were talking about. And of course, he noticed. His arms tightened a little around me.

"You ok?" he whispered into my hair.

I nodded into his neck. The skin there was nice and warm and smooth. It also smelled good, like his wolf form. He smelled of autumn leaves and wood burning in the mountains, nice and smoky.

Jacob had tugged the blankets around me when he'd gotten up here with me, but I wasn't up for being that separated from him. Dad was right; my feelings for Jacob were changing, and that dream made me want to be as close to him as I could get. Before I could chicken out, I kicked the covers off my legs, and pressed my feet to Jacob's legs.

He startled, pulling back from me. "Ness, what are you doing?"

I gave him my best puppy dog eyes, and the sharp lines in his face softened. "Please, Jake? I need to be close to you."

He sighed. "Ok." I got excited until he continued. "But let me see the dream."

"Jake," I whined.

"Ness, I need to see it. I have to know what's causing you to be so scared." His eyes bore into mine, and I couldn't deny him. But then again, I already knew that I would let him the first time he'd asked.

I pulled my hand from between our bodies to press my palm to his face. I pulled down my mental wall and let that memory flood through me. The urge to just fast forward it was itching under my skin, but I didn't. It played out for him in all its gory glory. I almost had to stop when it came to seeing his blue-tinted lips, but I kept going. He wanted to see it, all of it. So, I played it.

By the end, I was shaking again, and I couldn't stop.

**JPOV**

What she had just shown me was what she dreamed about? No wonder she was so stressed out. I held her tighter to me as she shivered uncontrollably. I wasn't sure if I could handle her being pressed up against me without the blankets between us without a bodily reaction, but I was sure as hell going to try. What she wanted was nothing compared to my urge to protect her. If being pressed to me was going to calm her, then she would get what she wanted.

And there was one thing that would keep my mind off of that lust. It was what I had felt in her memory of the dream. Her burst of emotions. Edward and Jasper had said heartbreak. They hadn't been kidding. Ness had literally felt like her heart was going to stop as soon as she'd realized that mine had.

Before Edward decided to have a snarl-fest, I quickly thought at him, _Don't worry. I'll be the perfect gentleman. I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing it for her. She needs this. And I'll tell her about imprinting, I promise._

"Jake?" Ness's voice pulled me out of my one-sided conversation with Edward.

"Yeah?"

Her eyes were wide and terrified. "You didn't say anything about it."

I had no idea what she wanted me to say. Her fear was still choking me. I tugged on her curls before meeting her eyes. "I don't know what you want me to say. I can't say that I like knowing you're in that much pain when I'm not here."

Her bottom lip was back between her teeth, but in a way that told me she was debating saying something. And sure enough, "So, does that mean that you won't leave again? That you'll stay here with me?" Her voice was so small.

I wanted to groan because I knew she was talking about me going up north. I sighed instead, my fingers brushed her bottom lip again to get her to release it. "You know it doesn't work like that. It has to be either me or Sam to go. And now that Emily's pregnant, I want Sam to stay with her. He should be here for her." Sam and I had been going up to the Makah reservation for the past year to renegotiate our peace treaty, not that we really needed it, but just in case. We'd been changing out weekends. Now, I wanted Sam to take care of Emily. That was his job as her imprint, her wolf protector. He couldn't protect his mate and unborn child if he was away from them.

Nessie's fingers tightened, her nails digging into my skin under my shirt. Her eyes were wide, but, surprisingly angry. "And what about me, Jacob? You're just going to leave me?"

My heart clenched. "Don't think that I want to, Ness. This has to be done. The sooner I can get everything renegotiated, the sooner I'll never have to go back up there."

Those beautiful chocolate brown eyes glared at me. "Fine. But you're getting a time limit this time. There won't be any 'stay as long as you need, Jake'."

_Thank God_ I thought to myself. There was no way I could handle the no time limit thing. Five days had nearly killed me, and it had made her nightmares grow worse. She now had nightmares with me in the same damn house. That was unacceptable to me.

"How long do I have, Ms. Cullen?" I asked her sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood a little. Things had gotten too tense for us in a short period of time.

This time, I just let her chew on her lip. I'd never be able to break her of that habit, not to mention that it was a cute one. Now, if she'd been leaving marks, then I'd put my foot down. But as it was, she wasn't hurting herself, so I just watched with a fascination that I wasn't sure was healthy as I heard Edward exhale sharply downstairs. That was a good sign. Not to mention that she was the only one who seemed to be immune to my Alpha-ness. Go figure.

"Two days. That's it. If you aren't back exactly two days to the minute, the second, that you left, then I will chop all my hair off and not talk to you for, like, five minutes."

A smile tugged at her lips at the end of her threat. I could feel a smirk stretch my mouth upward. And as we usually did, we burst out laughing at the same time.

"Deal," I promised when I could talk without laughing. I squeezed her one last time. "Now go to sleep. We have to go back down to the rez tomorrow."

"Why?" she asked, but her eyes were starting to droop. I could always tell when she'd had a rough day and when she was about to pass out.

"Because I didn't get a chance to talk to Sam about that scent. Not to mention that Billy might actually get mad if I don't go see him soon."

At first she nodded like she agreed, and then slowly fear crept into her eyes. "You'll tell Sam all of it, right?" She clutched at my shirt. "Jake, I can't relive that. Showing you was one thing, but I can't do it again."

I frantically stroked her hair. "Shhh, Ness, it's ok. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I've seen it and I was there in the clearing. Sam will hear it from me. You can hang out inside with Emily."

Relief washed through her features and she was back to stroking the skin of my neck. Damn me if it didn't feel good. Just the thought of having her in our marriage bed like this, curled next to me the way we should be made me ache for the day I see her walk down the aisle. Right then, I made a vow to Edward.

_I swear to you that I will take care of her. You know that. I know she's your little girl, but she's my woman. Feelings are changing on both sides. I want nothing more than to make your daughter a Black, but I also want you to be proud to have my name attached to someone you love so much. No matter what happened in our past, Edward, I do respect you and how much you've fought for your family. And now it's time for me to fight for mine. Renesmee is my future, but she's now my present more than she's ever been before. I will marry her, and I will respect her. You have my word._

There was a pause downstairs before a relieved sigh sounded as the piano started up. Nessie's lullaby floated on the air up the stairs to sink into both of us. I took that as a type of blessing.

"Jacob?"

I looked down to find her eyes closed a small smile on her lips.

"Yeah?"

"You'll stay here with me all night, right?"

"Of course," I said, my lips against her forehead.

Her hands moved to my chest so that she could push herself back. "No, Jake. I mean, you're going to stay _right here_ all night? No leaving because clearly I know, even in my sleep, when you aren't here. You'll stay here all night, and be in this bed, beside me, when I wake up?"

"Renesmee," I said sternly. The sound of her full name coming from me startled her into looking at me like she was actually listening now. "I already swore to you that won't ever leave you. You tell me to stay here all night, I'm staying all night until I see those pretty brown eyes in the morning. Are we clear?"

******RPOV**

Jake was staring at me so seriously that I couldn't help but believe him. Why was it so important to me that he promise me stuff all the time? Nine years wasn't enough trust building? But on the other hand, I needed to be reassured. Seeing Jacob dead and alone on the forest floor with his throat slashed to bits was not something that I needed here in real life. Somehow I knew that if he stayed close to me, I could protect him. It sounded crazy, but that's how I felt.

"Nessie, are we clear on that subject?" Jacob's voice left no room for a 'maybe' answer. It was either yes or no.

So, I nodded. "Yeah, Jake. We're clear."

His eyes immediately softened as his hands stroked my back and hair. "Good, now go to sleep. Something tells me that we're going to have a long day tomorrow."

Just knowing that Jake would be there when I woke up in the morning made my whole body relax. I hadn't realized that I'd tensed up until the tension washed out of me. Jacob rubbed my back, stroked my hair, and kissed my forehead. None of the awkwardness from earlier was with us. Right now, it was all about comfort. My nightmare had scared me, and I had scared Jake. There was no room for uncertainty at the moment.

I didn't need the blankets because Jake was there, holding me close to him. Mom once told me that she went through a time when she needed Jacob because he kept her warm, like her own personal sun. I guess I now knew what she meant. I felt so safe, like nothing would dare touch me as long as Jake was near me.

With that warm feeling in my heart and butterflies in my stomach, I fell asleep into perfect bliss. If I dreamed, I never remembered it.

**JPOV**

She was so perfect. Once her breathing evened out and her eyes moved under her lids, her face relaxed and a small smile played over her lips. I couldn't sleep so watching her had become my hobby for the night. Something about that nightmare of hers just kept eating at me. That clearing had been the same one that that scent had led us to. I was really starting to hope that these dreams weren't premonitions, just her imagination getting carried away because she now knew that she cared for me as more than just a best friend. It was every animal's greatest fear to lose their mate. Nessie and I were destined to be together. We completed each other.

Just as I knew I wouldn't be able to live without her, I knew she wouldn't be able to live without me. And it wasn't a cocky thought. If something happened to one or the other, we'd survive, yes. Live? Not so much. We'd more than likely become ghosts of our former selves, just like when Edward had left Bella thinking that it would keep her safe. She'd survived, but she had just become a shell. Her former lively self had gone into hibernation until he'd come back into her life.

Leaving Nessie was not an option for me. I couldn't just not care anymore. Looking out for myself had become number two on my list of things to do right after looking out for Nessie. She was my number one and had always been at the top of that list. Edward and Bells were right. I needed to tell her about imprinting, make sure she knew that she had a choice, not that she never had one. Watching her sleep in my arms made me want to wake her up and tell her right now. But she needed the sleep. Taking a deep breath, I made a promise to myself that I'd at least mention it tomorrow. Surprisingly, she hadn't mentioned it tonight. I was off the hook because her exhaustion had taken up the most space.

I couldn't fault Sam for mentioning it. It was probably his subtle way of nudging me to tell her. He and Emily had no doubt noticed the change in us long before we did.

In her sleep and dragging me out of my thoughts, Nessie squirmed in my arms, giggled, and said, "Jacob."

I'd never heard her say my name like that before. It was intimate and close. A girlfriend-type of tone.

Just as I was wondering what she could possibly be dreaming about, her hand snaked up between us to play with the skin just above the collar of my shirt. A burst of images slammed into my head at the same time the door to her room opened quietly. I could just make out Edward's silhouette before I was sucked into Nessie's dream.

This dream was so bright compared to her nightmare that I couldn't help but grin. However, the grin faltered when I saw the meadow that Edward and Bella had shown us a long time ago. It was their meadow, but of course they'd shared it with their daughter.

A few yards away, two people were lying in the grass, surrounded by purple flowers. A giggle that I knew well echoed through the clearing. As I walked closer to the couple, I noticed long bronze curls spread out underneath the shape of a large man. I'd first thought it was Edward and Bella, Nessie dreaming of them happy. But once I saw the hair, I knew it was Nessie herself on the ground. Beneath a man.

A snarl started in my chest…until the man spoke. "I love you, Nessie. Always." It was me. Jacob Black lying on top of Renesmee Cullen. My heart froze with the image.

The giggle came again. "Jacob, you've already told me that about a thousand times today since we woke up."

I watched, frozen, as my dream self braced an arm on one side of her and grasped her waist with the other as her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me down to her lips.

"I know. I just _need_ to tell you." My lips found hers. "All the time." They moved to her cheek. "Every day." To her jaw. "Every chance I get." Down the smooth column of her throat. "Just so you never have to wonder." Lips belonging to my dream self moved over her exposed collarbone gently, brushing back and forth. She sighed contentedly, tightening her arms around my neck.

As soon as I blinked, the dream shifted. We were on a couch in a house I'd never seen before. My arm wrapped around her shoulders as she snuggled into my side. It was the kind of scene that had happened multiple times on the couches in the Cullen house and the Black house. What wasn't normal was my shirt on the floor and her hand moving up and down my stomach, nails scratching over the muscles there. Another not normal thing? Her suggestive purring. My dream self looked at her with hooded lids, eyes that had gone dark with lust.

Dream-Jacob leaned into her, holding her hand against his(my) stomach, and kissed her so thoroughly _my_ cheeks flushed even though I was the only one here. She didn't seem to know that she was projecting onto me.

Speaking of Nessie, a burst of emotion came through with this one. I knew lust when I felt it. I'd felt it with Bella a long time ago before I'd imprinted. And now that Nessie's body and mind had matured, I lusted after her something terrible. Nessie wanted this, what was happening on the couch. Not exactly the sexual part, but the closeness. She wanted to be that close to me…all the time. She wanted to be able to touch me and kiss me. And I sure as hell shared her enthusiasm.

Dream-Jacob had pushed them down onto the couch, him on top of her, making sure she was comfortable before getting down to it. I wanted to yell, "Go me!" for being gentlemanly. However, I was starting to wonder how far she was going to let this dream go on. I'd really rather not know how she wanted "that" to turn out.

Thankfully, the dream shifted just before things got too serious. With that thought came the vision of Edward just before Nessie had washed over me. There was no telling how much trouble I'd be in when we both woke up.

The vision that I had been tossed into was so different than the last two that I just sat there and looked around. We were outside, the Cullens' backyard turned into a fancy ballroom. At once, I recognized Alice's handiwork in the wedding department. At the same time the wedding march started, my breath caught and I stood up with everybody else. Bella was standing at the front looking like she would be crying if she could. Edward was missing, and I knew why.

My dream self was standing up front looking seriously uncomfortable in a tux. Luckily there was no tie and the first couple buttons were undone showing a smooth expanse of my neck. Dream-Jacob was fidgeting with the sleeves of the jacket but immediately froze when he looked up. I followed that gaze to a sight that made me weak in the knees.

Nessie was arm in arm with Edward, a wide grin on her face, tears in her eyes. The wedding dress was just one big blur because that wasn't the focus of this dream. Her focus was caught on me, seeing me waiting for her at the altar.

The emotions coming through from her were so intense that I felt them fill me up from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. This was what she wanted more than anything. This was the one event that would bind us together in front of everyone. Only one other act could tie us closer, but that was a private show only. This was the most public way that she could show everyone that she was mine and I was hers with nobody coming between us.

Dream-Jacob looked how I would probably feel if this moment ever actually happened. He was grinning like an idiot while his eyes watered. I made my way through the dream guests to get to the aisle. I needed to see her up close. I needed to see how she saw herself. The closer I got to her, though, the blurrier she got. It was like she didn't even want to think of herself, what she might look like on her big day, before she thought of me.

That alone made me love her more than I ever thought possible. Just as she was number one on my list, I was number one on hers.

Suddenly, the dream was ripped away long before Nessie reached her Dream-Jacob. Everything dissolved and I was left blinking at the back of Nessie's head in her room. She'd rolled out of my arms, her skin losing contact with mine. I wanted more than anything in that moment to touch her shoulder where it peeked out from under my old shirt. I wanted to see how she imagined the end to that day, how she imagined us saying the magic words, but I didn't. It was her dream, her vision of the future. I wasn't even supposed to see what I had. Not to mention that Edward was still standing in the doorway leaning against the frame, arms crossed over his chest.

"That last one is her favorite. She's had that dream since she was old enough to picture a wedding. She's always dreamed of marrying her best friend."

"It was my favorite, too," I whispered, stroking her curls down her back. She arched her back into my hand.

Edward came to stand over the bed, over Nessie, and smiled down at her. "Her dreams are peaceful. All because of you, Jacob. She needs you. But she needs to know about imprinting. You need to tell her. It could make all the difference."

"Yeah, but it could also ruin everything. You've seen this thought in my head, Edward. There's a good chance that she could take it the wrong way, like she's never really had a choice. I don't want her to ever think that."

He sighed. "I know, Jacob. But she needs to know. It's as much a part of her life as it is yours. As long as it's you, I doubt she'll mind so much."

"We can only hope."

* * *

**So, Jacob has now come to an understanding with himself and with Nessie's dreams. Now, he needs to figure out what to do with it. You guys are awesome. Thanks for the reviews.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Ok, guys. Sorry for updating so late tonight. Busy, busy, busy. And speaking of busy, my updating may start to lose its steam a little bit because you guys have wanted to so much so fast that you've caught up to what I have written, which I thought was a lot. Apparently not enough. So I have some serious writing to attend to, and I promise that I will write write write as much as I can and send it out to you guys as fast as I can.**

**So in this chapter we meet a new character. I felt as if Jacob and Nessie were spending too much time around each other. But since this story is focused on them, there will mostly be Jacob/Nessie time. One last thing, I promise that I rated this M for a reason. It will get steamy and I've had that scene in my head for days now. In a lot of the other fics that I've read, Nessie has been way too innocent, not knowing what things are. Well, not here. Here she's going to be alpha female to Jake's alpha male.**

**So back to my not updating as much. I want to be able to give you guys something tomorrow, so this chapter will be a little short. I'm writing new chapters tonight. Never fear. I won't leave you guys hanging.**

**Sadly, I only own this world in my dreams...and Jacob, too. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**RPOV**

I woke up super warm and to the sound of birds chirping. The warmth, I figured out, was Jacob. My back was pressed to his chest, his arm around my waist. We'd never woken up like this because he was always awake and out of bed before me. This was the first time I'd ever woken up with him. He'd kept his promise. And I loved the feeling.

I rolled over to find him watching me. "Good morning," I said.

"Morning, Nessie. How'd you sleep?"

I snuggled closer to him. And then I remembered the awkwardness between us. Moving away from him, I sat up and smoothed my hair. "I finally feel rested."

He leaned up against the pillows and played with the ends of my hair. "Do you remember any dreams?"

That made me frown. "No, I don't remember anything. Why?"

I turned to find Jacob with a far off look in his eyes and a frown. "Hmm, well I guess that's a good thing. No nightmares."

I turned on the bed to sit cross-legged beside him. "Jacob, what's wrong?"

He just kept staring in that far off way for a moment before he blinked and shook himself out of it. "Nothing, sweetie. I was just thinking."

"About what?" I asked putting a finger between his eyes just like he'd done to me last night.

Those dark eyes lifted to mine. "The future."

His seriousness was scaring me. We'd never talked about what the future might hold for either one of us because it was Jacob that had everything to lose. His dad, sisters, eventually those members of the pack that had imprinted. It wasn't something that either one of us liked to think or talk about.

"Jacob, I don't understand."

He sat up and mirrored the way I was sitting. Taking my hand in one of his, he played with my fingers. "Ness, there's something that I need to talk to you about. Something that Sam mentioned last night."

"What?" I vaguely remembered Sam saying stuff last night to Jake about being godfather to the baby, but I couldn't quite grasp what it was.

He was about to speak when Dad knocked on the door frame. Jake glared at him. "I'm sorry, Jake. I hate to interrupt, I really do, but Nessie has a visitor."

**JPOV**

It was unfair to him, but Edward was two seconds away from getting cussed out. I had been about to tell Nessie about imprinting. It had been set up perfectly, but no. He couldn't have just told whoever it was to wait a few minutes. He just _had_ to come up here and interrupt. Now I'd be lucky if I got the nerve back up to finish what I'd started. Her dream last night told me everything that I needed to know. She really wanted to be with me, needed to be with me. And I needed her.

"Who is it?" she asked Edward, slipping her hand out of mine. Her warmth faded out of my skin immediately.

He smiled a crooked grin. "Shelby."

He'd barely gotten the name out before Nessie squealed herself off the bed and out the door, still in her pajamas. There was silence for all of a minute before tons of girlish squeals floated up to the room while I stared Edward down.

"I know, Jacob. I'm sorry. Shelby can be very persuasive." He leaned against the door frame. "Nessie needs this. As do you. I know that I said you need to tell her, but I also feel that you need to think about what you should say. I know you were going to just say whatever came out, but it would be good to have an outline, at least."

I growled. Seriously? This was turning into a soap opera again. "Why don't _you_ tell her, then? Since you clearly know what's supposed to be said." There was no way my sarcasm was lost on him.

"Because it's not my place." And clearly, my sarcasm didn't affect him. Pity.

"Tell who what?" Ness and Shelby were standing in the doorway arm in arm. Their cheeks were flushed and their eyes were bright, shiny.

Edward turned to her with an easy smile. "Nothing that needs worrying over at this moment." He gave me one pointed look before going downstairs.

"Hey, Jake," Shelby said with a wave.

Her smile was infectious. Both girls were glowing with joy. I couldn't help but grin at them both. Nessie because, come on, she was my soul mate and it made me happy to see her happy. Shelby because she'd made my soul mate's day by visiting.

"Hey, Shelbs. What's up?"

Shelby was a confident girl. Her silky black hair was cut just above her shoulders making her pale skin stand out. Her mother was of Asian descent so she had those slightly upturned, almond-shaped eyes. The reason she was so popular was those very eyes. They were bright green and very intelligent. She didn't put up with people's crap, and had protected Nessie in her one and only year in public school. I approved of her because I knew that she knew something was off about the Cullens, and me for that matter, but she never said anything. Those eyes took in the fact that Edward looked young enough to be Nessie's brother instead of father, but the girl never questioned it. I'd liked her instantly when I'd met her.

"Oh, nothing much. I just decided to come see my best friend." She nudged Ness affectionately when she said it. "My dad holed me up in the house after graduation." Those green eyes rolled. "I swear he thought I was just going to go out and party my life away. And then the storm hit." She shrugged, arms out to the side. "But here I am. So what are you two up to today?"

I glanced at Nessie. "Well, we were actually about get up and head to the rez. I've got some…business to take care of."

Shelby's face fell. We never let her go to the rez, just in case. The packs weren't like they used to be, sticking to the woods in wolf form. Some of them would sit guard at parks and playgrounds. If she saw them, then she might try to play connect the dots in order to figure the Cullens out. That would bring us trouble that we didn't need. There was already something new roaming the woods. If it wasn't the Volturi, I sure as hell didn't need a reason to bring them here.

"Oh, well, I guess I can just call you later, Ness. I was just stopping by. My car's in the shop and I was doing a little walking."

I was about to open my mouth again when Edward popped up. "Hey, Shelby, Jacob and some of his friends work at a car shop down at the reservation. Maybe they could get it done faster since you know them." He winked at me as I mentally screamed at him to shut the hell up.

"Well, I don't know, Mr. Cullen. I don't want to cause trouble and I don't have a way to move the thing. It completely died. I still have to pay my dad back for getting it towed there. I don't want to have to pay more to tow it somewhere else _and_ pay for the repairs."

Edward smiled. "No worries. We'll get it looked at for you. Don't worry about payments."

"Mr. Cullen, really, it's ok." I could tell that she really wanted to take what was offered but was too polite to. She'd been brought up to handle her responsibilities.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "You've been so good to Nessie. Her mother and I owe you for taking her under your wing. Honestly, we'll make all the arrangements."

Her shoulders slumped. "I've lost this fight, haven't I?"

Nessie, Edward, and I all nodded. I was so not fond of this idea, though. Her car on the rez meant that she'd be down there to fill out paperwork, which meant she needed to go down there with us. I was mentally cussing Edward with any and every word I knew.

But I didn't say anything. Nessie was already chatting about Shelby finally meeting Emily, Claire, Rachel, and everyone else as I left them to get ready to go down there. Ness was still in her pajamas after all, and I didn't want any other guy seeing her in those short shorts and _my _shirt.

Edward chuckled as he went down the stairs ahead of me, probably more because I was still cussing him out than the fact that I was thinking about how gorgeous her legs were. He turned to me once we were on the first floor.

"Jacob, calm down. Think about it. You and Nessie both have been stressed and worried over feelings. She needs her other best friend. And Shelby already knows that there is something off about all of us. She's come very close to guessing a couple times. In your case, she's been right. But Jacob, she'd never tell. She loves Nessie too much. As I've told my daughter, love comes in many different forms. Shelby sees what's between you and Nessie. Everybody does." He shrugged. "And who knows. This may be good for Shelby. She's been very alone lately."

_What do you mean?_ I asked silently.

Edward's eyes flashed. "Her father hasn't been very…fatherly lately." At my growl he shook his head quickly. "Nothing too serious, but he's scared her a couple times. I've been having Alice check in every now and then, as have I."

"If anything happened to Shelby, it would kill Nessie." That was the last thing I wanted. I actually liked Shelby and wanted her to be around for a while. She was good for Ness.

He nodded. "I know. That's why I didn't tell you. We can be of use, too, you know." The smirk vanished. "We'll keep tabs on her and the situation. You take care of you and Nessie. And we'll all worry about that stench in the clearing. I think between all of us, we have enough worry to go around."

"Does Nessie know about this?"

Edward shook his head. "No. And I don't want her to either. This needs to be kept here. She's confused enough as it is."

And so five minutes later, I'd called Seth and Paul to let them know to be expecting Shelby's car sometime soon, but also that I was calling both packs to a meeting. Since Paul belonged to Sam's pack and Seth to mine, they would get the word around.

I was watchful as the three of us walked down to the rez. Between the Cullen house and the turn off were a lot of woods that I wasn't too thrilled about. The sense of being watched wasn't there, but I kept my guard up. Nessie I knew could fight if she had to, but Shelby? She was tough in attitude, but I didn't know if she'd had any fighting lessons.

They chattered all the way to Sam's house, where I dropped them off. After I said goodbye, I started to turn when Nessie grabbed my hand and squeezed.

"Are you ok, Jake? You were really quiet walking down here, and you never got to finish what we were talking about. You wanna finish it now?" Her voice sounded small as if she were trying not to make me mad or something.

I squeezed her hand in return. "No, Ness. I'm fine. You and Shelby have fun with the girls. We'll talk later." I fought with myself over kissing her forehead. In the end, the instinct won out and I pressed my lips to her skin. She leaned into it like I hoped she would.

"Well, where are you going?" she asked, hugging herself.

I ignored the need to pull her into my arms. I'd already given in to kissing her. Once was enough. "We're going to meet in the woods." I lowered my voice. "I can't risk it with Shelby here. Plus the others don't need to know the details. Don't worry. We'll take care of it."

That bottom lip was back between her teeth. "Please be careful, Jake. I can't even handle losing you in a dream. Losing you in reality would kill me, no matter how awkward things are."

Thankfully Emily and Sam had come out to introduce themselves to Shelby, probably sensing that Ness and I needed a moment. I sent out a silent prayer of thanks.

Nessie's hand was cold from the colder than usual temperatures left over from the storm. "Nessie, do you not remember how clear we were last night on this topic?"

She squeezed my hand. "I do, but, Jacob, this is more than you just leaving for a few days. This is your life. I'm not willing to gamble on that."

"I know. I'm not either. But you've got to understand that I'm the Alpha. I can't just ask everybody else to take my bullets for me. We need to figure out what's in the woods before it hurts someone. As much as I hated seeing me dead in your dreams, I don't want to see a member of either one of our families dead in real life. I'm built to protect. And that's what I plan on doing." It was my turn to do a little hand squeezing. "You need time with the girls, especially Shelby."

"Promise me you'll tell me what you guys come up with?"

"Yeah, I promise."

Sam came out of the house just as I brought Nessie in for a tight hug. He, Emily, and Shelby watched us, all with the same smile on their faces. I rolled my eyes at them, kissed Ness on top of her head, and let her go…reluctantly.

Before I could give in anymore to her, I nodded to Sam to follow me and left Nessie standing in the middle of the yard. I was seriously being unfair to her. Being pissed off with Edward didn't justify the way I was treating Nessie, but I couldn't help but think that today could have been different had he not interrupted when he did.

The dreams that I'd been witness to last night had me wired up. I wanted everything that I'd seen in her head. I wanted to touch her, to caress her skin, know every inch of it. I wanted to be able to crush her to my chest in a suffocating kiss whenever I wanted. But above all, I _needed_ to see her walk down an aisle made of the backyard, attached to her father's arm, and smiling at only me, knowing that I was her future, her protection, and everything in between.

"You ok, Jake?" Sam's voice pulled me out of my imaginary plans.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm good."

He chuckled. "You shouldn't lie like that."

"Sam, I really don't want to talk about this right now." I veered us toward my house where I'd left both bags of clothes with that stench on them. Sam pulled me to stop with his hand on my shoulder just before we walked within viewing range of the house.

"Jacob, you need to talk to someone other than Edward about this. Talk to me. I can help."

My head hung on my shoulders with a heavy sigh, and voiced my fears to him. "I don't know how to do this. I love her, but if I tell her about imprinting how will she react?" I turned to look at him. "Sam, what if she thinks that all this time she's never had a choice? That we've all steered her to look at me? I don't want that."

He studied me for a very long moment. "I think you're being too hard on yourself. We all see what's there between you. She _loves_ you, Jake. I don't think- actually, you know what? I _know_ nothing will change that. Seth told me about her nightmares and what he's heard about them." He took a deep breath that puffed out into the cold air. "You are her world. And if you leave her, she's on her own, alone. That girl hasn't been alone one day of her life. And every single day of her nine years, _you've_ been there. She wouldn't know what to do without you."

"Not every day, Sam." A thought came to me that made me queasy. "What if-," I had to swallow and take a breath in order to finish. "Sam, what if me leaving for just those few days caused her nightmares to show up again? I mean, why are we even trying for this treaty? It's not like we need it."

He put his hand on my shoulder again. "Jacob, we _do_ need it. If an enemy comes from the north, the Makah tribe will know about it and send us a message. But without that treaty, we're blind even with Alice. I swear we stretch that woman too thin. She can only concentrate on so many things at once." He squeezed my shoulder. "I know it's hard on you, and on Nessie. Trust me, I know. Being away from Emily is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life."

"At least she knows about imprinting, though."

He nodded. "True. That does make it easier. But in all honesty, I think you should slow it back down and quit being so hard on yourself. You and Nessie are a special case with extremely special circumstances. Don't rush this. You and she aren't going anywhere anytime soon. You have time to figure this out. So do me a favor and just breathe. Everything will come together. There may be a few more speed bumps, and the biggest of them may have yet to come, but you'll get through it. Jake, you're a fighter, so approach this like one. What should you do?"

The answer was immediate. "Plan the attack. Get to know my enemy, how to approach it."

Sam nodded encouragingly. "Exactly. We know that 'the talk' is the enemy. Now you need to think about how you want to approach it, how you want to set it up, and what you want to say. I know how you work, and you tend to get aggressive when you get agitated. When you're talking to her, just breathe. Take it one step at a time."

Well, now that someone said it like that, it felt easier. And now I really wanted to take one of those deep breaths he was talking about, so I did. It felt good to know that someone had my back about this. Of course, Sam would have some experience with the challenges of imprinting seeing as how he'd been dating Leah when he'd met and imprinted on Emily, Leah's cousin.

"Feel better?" he asked with a smirk.

I smiled back. "Much. Thanks for that."

He clapped me on the back. "Anytime, man. Now, back to business. Tell me about what happened yesterday."

* * *

**I love to get your reviews so please don't hesitate. All I ask is that you be nice. This is the first time I've made any of my writing public. I'm sensitive. xoxoxoxox**


	10. Chapter 9

**So, chapter 9. Here it is. If you recall from the books, Jacob has a bit of a temper, even when it comes to people he loves. I'm going agree with Ness in that I believe it's because of his dominant position. But Nessie has a little bit of an "oops" moment that gets him a little hot under the collar...and not in the good way. And since I'm always rooting for Seth, he gets a happy. :)**

**Still not the universe in which I own Twilight.**

**Hope you guys enjoy, though!**

**RPOV**

Only two hours had passed since Jacob left me standing on Emily's front yard with the other girls surrounding me. They'd all had the same look on their faces as if they'd just seen something really romantic. I ignored it.

But now, I was getting jittery. Claire and I had been baking while Emily taught Shelby how to crochet. We'd all been listening to the radio and eavesdropping on each other's conversations. Now, the cookies and muffins were cooling off, Claire had fallen asleep on the couch, and Shelby and Emily were talking softly to each other. When I stepped into the living room, their immediate silence told me that they'd probably been talking about the scene outside with me and Jake.

"Hey, Ness. What's up, buttercup?" Shelby asked while stroking a stray hair out of Claire's face.

"Nothing much. But I think I'm going to go for a short walk."

Shelby made as if she were about to get up. "Oh, would you like some company?"

I really should have said yes because I hadn't seen her in a few weeks, but I needed some serious time to myself with nobody else to act for. And I knew she would ask me about what was going on between me and Jacob. In all honesty, I didn't know the answer to that question, and I wasn't in the mood to talk about it.

"Um, actually, I was hoping it could be just me for a little while."

Shelby's face fell until she looked at Emily, who nodded as if confirming whatever it was that they'd been talking about. Shelby turned back to give me a genuine smile. "Ok, sweetness. Just don't stay out there too long. Wouldn't want you to freeze out there."

"Sure thing. I'll see you guys in a few. I won't be out long."

After I slipped my coat on and said another goodbye, I took off for the woods. No, I wasn't going to look for the packs. I just needed some time to myself meaning that walking out around the rez wasn't an option. Too many people would want to stop and talk to me. They always did.

So, I went for the woods where it was quieter. The birds that had decided to stay for the winter were chirping happily now that the aftermath of the storm had passed and the winds were calmer. The snow was still around but dissipating due to the normal rains that had returned. Right now, the skies were clear of the drizzle but not the gray clouds.

The clouds made me think of the night that Jacob had come back, the night of the storm. And that made me think of Jacob in general.

Something was up with him. Ever since last night, except for the moments after my nightmare, he'd been acting strange. This morning it had gotten worse when dad had interrupted whatever he'd wanted to tell me. Jake had said that it had to do with something Sam had mentioned last night, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember what he'd said. I remembered tensing up next to Jake when they'd been talking about the baby, but my head had been so fuzzy from exhaustion that I just couldn't bring it back.

And then, this morning he'd asked about my dreams, if I'd remembered them. _Them_. And _then_ he'd mentioned the nightmares.

I sighed to myself. Everything had been just fine until I up and decided that my love for him was different now, and he…well, I didn't know what was up with him, but still. What was wrong with us? I prayed to the clouds that we weren't going to drift apart. He meant the world to me. Of course, that was a selfish thought. If he really wanted to get away from me, then I'd let him go. It wouldn't be easy and it would shatter me, but I'd do it.

Trapped in my own thoughts, I hadn't been paying attention to where I was walking, so I was surprised when I came across a small clearing. It wasn't the same as the one in my nightmare, but it was similar enough that I shivered.

Once I got myself together, I saw a tree that had a perfect sitting spot so I headed for it. I had just touched the trunk to start climbing when I heard it. A rustle in the bushes. A _big_ rustle in the bushes.

I closed my eyes at the low growl that came next, and relaxed. It was just Jacob or Seth having come look for me. I turned around to face whoever it was with a smile.

"You guys are-," my voice trailed off at the site in front of me.

Immediately, I backed up into the tree trunk. The wolf in front of me was big, but I knew right away that it wasn't a Quileute wolf for three reasons. Number one, he wasn't _huge_ like they were. Number two, I knew what each Quileute wolf looked like. Number three, that stench floated to me stronger than I'd ever smelled it. I fought the urge to grab my head in pain when, again, I felt like I was being stabbed with an icepick.

So this was what was tearing up the woods. The one in front of me had a smoky grey coat with a black mask around his bright blue eyes.

What I was surprised about though was the fact that the predator wasn't right in front of me. He was standing in the middle of the clearing, hackles raised. He'd had enough time to be right up on me. My guess was that he wanted a chase. Just great.

"Please," I whispered. "Don't."

This wasn't just a wild wolf. There was something in the way that he looked at me that was oddly calculating, something human. This had to be one of the other types of werewolves. Mom and Dad had told me about them, but had said they were mostly housed overseas. Clearly there were some here, in Forks.

My hand scraped against the bark of the tree. If I could climb fast enough, he couldn't get to me unless he phased back to his human form. However, I must have made a movement that betrayed my thoughts because he hunkered down into the snow, a vicious growl in his chest.

His coat twitched betraying him this time. He was about to pounce and there was no way I'd be able to climb this tree. I had no illusions about the fact that Jacob let me win some of our races. If this type of werewolf was just as fast, or faster, I was in some serious trouble.

There was a scream, a last scream, for Jacob in the back of my throat, but it froze when I saw another wolf hiding in the trees to my right, and that scent became even stronger. This one was pure white except for the one black spot around one of his eyes that gave him away. He was watching the grey wolf, hackles raised. His eyes were amber, and they flicked to me for just a second. I could swear that I'd just seen him give me a tiny nod.

But I didn't have time to figure it out. My head was pounding, making my eyes water. The wolf in front of me went lower into the snow, shoulders twitching. When I saw his muscles bunch, I closed my eyes.

_I love you, Jacob._ That was going to be my last thought.

But a moment passed without anything happening. Silence. Then, the clearing was chaos. I opened my eyes in time to see the white wolf charge the grey one. They went to the ground in the snow, snapping and growling. While they were at it, I inched my way into the woods, praying that there weren't more wolves waiting for me.

When I looked back, the white male had the larger one pinned to the ground, but it wasn't going to last. The grey one really was bigger. White wolf locked his eyes with mine and let out a small bark and growl.

I turned. I ran.

**JPOV**

That meeting had felt good. I'd been so tensed up recently that just talking pack stuff and fighting plans felt good in my bones. No emotional crap for a few hours. We'd passed those two bags around making sure all the wolves got a good whiff of it before patrols this afternoon. I'd even called the Cullens. They made sure to stay at the fringes of the group and near my pack the entire time.

Edward had stayed back wanting to talk. He'd started by apologizing again and giving me pointers. But I'd told him that I was just going to let it cool down before I dug myself deeper. Nessie deserved to be told by someone who had their shit together, not someone who was just going to wing that type of conversation.

He'd left with a strange look on his face.

Now, Sam, Seth, Paul, Quil, and I were all heading back to Sam's house to meet up with the girls. I decided to try to act like my normal Jacob-self in order to give Nessie some normalcy. I'd probably freaked her out lately with my actions and total weirdness.

There was an extra pep in my step as the five of us walked up to the house. Claire ran out the front door with a plate full of cookies and muffins. She was adorable as she quickly swatted Paul's hand away so that Quil could get first pick. Emily came out next followed by Shelby.

I was expecting Ness to come out next, but when she didn't, my stomach dropped. The good feeling that I'd just been channeling vanished.

"Em, where's Nessie?" I asked in an even tone, praying by all that was holy that she was just in the bathroom or taking a nap.

Neither of those was the answer I got. Emily and Shelby shared a look. "Um, she's not with you?"

A growl started up in my chest, but Sam's hand on my shoulder had me swallowing it. Which was good since Shelby was watching all of us.

Sam stepped up to Emily. "Why would you assume she was with us?"

"Well," Shelby spoke up. "She said that she was going to go for a short walk, but that was, like, an hour ago.

"And you didn't go with her?" I asked, probably a little more sharply than was polite.

But screw being polite. Nessie was out somewhere alone. I wasn't a fan of that idea seeing as how we had something dangerous roaming the woods surrounding both Forks and the reservation. Sam and some of his pack had said that they'd also come across that smell, but had written it off to some rabid animal.

Shelby shrank back in the face of my aggression. "No. She said she wanted to get some air by herself, a little alone time." She glanced at Emily. "Come on, Jake. You two are always together. You both need space from the other every now and then."

"That's not the point," I growled out before Sam pulled me back. "What?!" I snarled at him when he'd pulled me far enough away.

"Jake, calm down. Remember that talk we had about you breathing?"

I nodded.

"Yeah? Well, start now. Stop and think. Where would she go? If she wanted to be alone to think, where would she go to do that?"

Doing as he suggested, I pulled a lot of air into my lungs and whooshed it back out. It calmed me enough to think. Which wasn't good since I came up with the answer that I'd been dreading.

I shook Sam's shoulders. "She's in the woods. Sam, if she wanted to be alone, she'd go where nobody would talk to her."

Everybody on the rez loved her. Some of the residents would stop her to ask her a vampire-related question, especially the kids. The woods were her favorite place because the only person who would be asking her questions was her.

"Ok, Jake. What do you want to do?" Sam was so calm that I felt that I was overreacting, so I forced myself to stop and take another breath. Nessie wouldn't wander too far. More than likely she'd headed behind Sam's house. But I didn't want to take the risk of being wrong.

I turned to the rest of the wolves who'd gathered. "Seth, you're with me and Sam. The rest of you pair up and head in different directions. I want you to phase. You find her, you howl. Do not howl for any other reason, I don't care what you find. If you find something weird, tell us later. Nessie is priority right now."

Emily had started to drag Shelby back in the house, but not fast enough. I heard her asking Emily, "Why are they in alert mode? She just went for a walk. And they're supposed to howl? What are they, dogs?"

_Damn_ I thought. Edward had been right. She'd guessed us out. Go figure.

Everyone was nodding and pairing up just as I'd told them, even the wolves that weren't in my pack. Nobody questioned me. Sam had gone to stand with Seth…who was staring at the front door like he couldn't believe that he'd just seen something so beautiful.

Sam decided to say the unnecessary. "Jake, I think we might have a problem." He was trying to hold back a smile while staring at the awestruck Seth in front of us.

I cursed loud and hard then made my way over to them. Placing my hands on Seth's shoulders, I shook him until his eyes focused on me. "Listen, Seth." I pointed to the door that Shelby had disappeared through. "That girl's best friend, _my_ imprint, is alone in the woods somewhere. We need to find her." I let go of him and started for the woods behind Sam's house. "It might earn you some points in her favor," I grumbled.

Behind me, I heard Sam say, "Come on, Seth. I'll introduce you when we get back. We gotta find Nessie, or Shelby will be heartbroken.

The next thing I knew, Seth was running into the woods ahead of me, in full alert mode. Well, Sam certainly knew how to work with the imprint crap.

We both followed him into the woods, calling Nessie's name. Spreading out to the point that I could only see them because of their movements, I trudged ahead. The snow was melting on the top branches of the trees and making its way to the ground like rain. Tiny drops fell on me as I tried to sniff out Nessie's scent. In human form, our senses weren't as strong as when we're phased, but they still worked better than a human's.

I knew that she'd been close to having her monthly gift, and that changed her scent. Sometimes it would be so overpowering that her regular scent would be washed out.

I was starting to think that I'd been wrong when I caught a whiff of something. It was a mix of that foul stench and what her scent had changed to for the month. Those two mixed together didn't bode well, and it made the blood in my veins freeze colder than the snow.

I whistled in a way to let Seth and Sam know that I'd found something. When they came rushing over and saw that there was nothing to see, I tapped my nose. They both immediately started sniffing the breeze.

"Is that what I think that is?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, it's that stench mixed with Nessie's scent."

Seth shook his head. "That doesn't smell like Nessie. It smells like blood."

Sam and I both stared at him…really hard.

"OOOOH," he said, blushing and looking down.

"Come on. Let's follow this."

And so we did. Eventually we found her shoeprints. We followed them for what felt like an eternity. Why the hell had she come this far into the woods? She must have been so lost inside her own head that she hadn't noticed because she'd have never done this knowing that there was something dangerous in these trees.

Finally, we came to a clearing that was full of snow, Nessie's scent, and that stench. The snow had been disturbed and not just by her small feet. There were also drops of blood on the snow that made the smell stronger and burned my nose like acid would probably feel.

But she wasn't here. Her scent wasn't fresh. She'd already come and gone.

Cupping my hands around my mouth, I yelled, "NESSIE!"

"Maybe she headed back. This was a long hike, Jake. She might even get there before us. She could be there now." Sam put his hand on my shoulder. "Come on, Jake. Let's go."

Seth, who had gone to look around the clearing, came back with a smile. "Her scent was on the fringe of the trees, and then headed back down toward Sam's. I think he's right in saying she headed back."

I nodded and turned around. My blood still felt frozen. She'd been so close to whatever was here. She may have even seen it, and that scared me. I was supposed to protect her. I couldn't do that if she kept pulling crap like this.

"Let's go."

We walked back through the woods in silence. Both men knew that I was agitated so they left me well enough alone. The edge of the woods was in sight when the brush to my left vibrated and a loud huff came from behind them.

"Ness?" I felt stupid talking to a shrub, but I felt drawn to it, the way I always feel drawn to her.

I didn't have to wait long for a reaction. Quick footfalls rushed toward me, kicking leaves up. It was probably one of the other wolves. The brush in front of me was thick so when it shook slightly, I knew something or someone was on the other side of it, trying to break through. The shaking started to get more frantic.

"Nessie?" I whispered.

Two seconds later, the brush burst apart, something crashed into me, and I was flat on my back on the forest floor.

**RPOV**

I hadn't meant to literally tackle Jacob when I'd been trying to get through those weeds, but I was really happy that I had. I was so happy to see him that I'd almost started crying. Instead, I just rolled off of him, or I tried to. His arms snapped up to hug me to him.

"Good god, Ness, You scared the hell out of me." He hugged me tighter.

"Sorry," I mumbled into his chest. He smelled so good. That smoky smell was stronger than the autumn leaves. That probably meant that he was stressed out.

After a few heartbeats, he let me roll off of him and we both stood up. I walked around him to scrape the leaves and dirt off his shirt as best as I could. He stopped me, though, by grabbing my wrist.

"Forget the shirt, Ness. Where the hell have you been?" When I met his eyes, I found them to be glaring at me.

He was so angry. I hadn't seen him this way in a long time. If I told him about what I'd seen, he'd have an aneurysm and probably never talk to me again. So with the explanation about the wolves on the tip of my tongue, I swallowed it back down and lied.

"I'm sorry, Jake. I didn't mean to freak you out. Emily and Shelby knew I was going for a walk, but I fell asleep in a tree." I shrugged. "Jake, I just needed some time to myself. You know how I get."

He studied me for a long moment, and I was sure he knew I was lying. But he never called me on it.

"Seth, go get Shelby. Bring her over to my house. I gotta visit Billy." He gave the order all while looking at me. His eyes roamed my body, probably checking for any type of injury.

Seth's face lit up like he was more than happy to leave this conversation, and a moment later, he was running through the woods toward Sam's house. Jacob watched me for another second before turning on his heel and heading in the opposite direction for his house without another word.

"Jake!" I called after him.

He didn't turn around. That, more than anything, made my heart hurt. He always turned around when I called for him.

When I started after him, I was stopped by a heavy hand. "Ness, let's talk for a moment."

"He's so angry." My voice was tiny, squeaky, and sad as Sam stood behind me, watching Jacob disappear. "He's never just walked away from me like that."

Sam turned me around, but I couldn't meet his eyes because I didn't want him to see the tears in mine. He tilted my chin up anyway.

"Nessie, you're right, he _is_ angry."

"But it was an accident. I didn't mean to."

He wiped the tears off my face as they started to fall. "I know, sweetie. But Jacob feels like it's his job to protect you. And he can't do that when you just take off." He put his hands on his hips and looked at the ground. "Let's put it in a way you'll understand." He looked up into my eyes very steadily. "He's your world, right? He means everything to you."

I nodded, the tears still falling. "Yes," I whispered. There was no use hiding my feelings anymore. Everybody already knew anyway.

"Renesmee, I want you to try to guess who _his_ world is. Who means everything to him." He raised his eyebrows. "You don't have to guess, because I'll tell you. I'm staring at her."

That made me blush, smile, and cry harder all at the same time. Sam was right. I had lied to Jake, and Jake knew it. After all he'd done for me over the years, I at least owed him the truth.

"It makes him anxious that you don't watch out for yourself. It makes him think that you aren't ready to be treated like an adult. He's wrong, of course, because we all make mistakes. Sometimes an adult's mistake _can_ be fatal." He sighed. "Nessie, all I'm saying is that with whatever it is that's happening you should be more on guard. That scent wasn't just in the woods near your house. It was also found here on the rez."

I just stared at him. When I first went into the woods, I hadn't guessed that whatever it was had been this far down, so I thought it was safe to go into the woods. After today, though, Sam was totally right.

"I didn't know. He didn't tell me that."

"Because he didn't know until today. But that's not the point, Nessie. The point is that being mature is being cautious. You have to watch out for yourself because we won't always be there to save you. You knew there was something in the woods that could be dangerous and you still went in alone and far enough in that we wouldn't have been able to get you out in time had something happened." It seemed that he was finished, but it was there in the way he was standing that I knew he was stewing over something else.

"What is it, Sam?" I asked quietly.

He sighed as if he were supporting the world on his shoulders. "Nessie, there was a time, before you were born, that Jacob was terribly aggressive. He was heartbroken and angry, and he just wanted to be left alone. He didn't care anymore. About anything, except your mother. But even she couldn't help him out of his temper sometimes. Sometimes, she was the cause that set him off. But my point is, if anything happened to you-," He paused, swallowing hard and looking as if he were in pain. "Nessie, if anything happened to you, I'm terrified of what will happen to him. I can't see him do that to himself again. And it would be worse, because the feelings he had for your mom?" He shook his head. "That doesn't even hold a candle to how he feels about you. He'd fight the devil himself just to keep you safe. And knowing Jake, he'd win, too."

I'd never heard any of this before. Especially Jacob being in so much pain that he was angry all the time. What had my mother done to him? And knowing that he would move the world for me? I knew he was protective and aggressive, but I had attributed that to him being an Alpha male. No matter what species, alpha males were always aggressive and territorial, more so than the others.

But I was his world, and his world had just lied to him.

"Oh, god, Sam," I choked out. "I just made a huge mistake."

"What?"

I squeezed my eyes shut against another wave of tears. "I lied to Jake."

Sam's worried eyes found mine. "About what?"

Not meeting his eyes, I said, "I didn't fall asleep. I was in this clearing that I'm sure you found." My hands found my face and that's where they stayed. "It was wolves."

"What? What do you mean, wolves?"

I shook my head, face still covered. "They weren't your or Jacob's wolves. They were different."

Sam gripped my wrists, pulling my hands away from my face. " 'They'? How many? And how were they different?"

And so, I told Sam everything. He growled about the grey one wanting to attack me, but stopped when I told him that the white one had saved me. I begged Sam to promise me that if they found them, that they'd spare the white male. He'd had no intentions of harming me in that clearing. He'd gone against his alpha male to see me out alive. I owed him a life. Mine.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 has arrived. This one was so hard to write because I didn't want this story to only take place over a couple days, hence the last section of this chapter. Soon, it's going to get quite intense. I just felt that these lovely characters needed a small breathing break. And I must say, she needed a day with Shelby. I love Shelby. Anywhozzle, here ya go. **

**I own nothing. :(**

**Enjoy, though!**

**JPOV**

She'd lied to me. Nessie had freaking lied to me. She hadn't fallen asleep in the damn tree. I wasn't that freaking stupid. The cold would have kept her up. The temperatures were still in the freezing zone. Sure she'd fall asleep during the warmer seasons but not winter.

I'd heard her call my name, but I just couldn't go back. If I had, I would have ripped her lie apart in front of Sam, and I just wasn't willing to hurt her like that. Hell, maybe she'd had a reason for lying. But the point remained that she had lied. To me. Nessie Cullen had never lied to me in her life. Not outright like that.

Sam had kept her back to talk to her. She'd be safe with him. Had it only been me and her, I would have called her on her lie and I would have stayed with her.

I did what Sam had told me to do. I breathed. My shoulders and neck were tense as I rolled them. It wasn't long before Seth and Shelby made their way down the path that led to my house. Seth was watching her in awe as she spewed about school, her parents, her life. It made me laugh, but also made me wonder if I looked the same way when Nessie was telling me something as mundane as what movie she'd watched while I was on patrol.

I sighed. _That girl._ There was just no way that I'd be able to stay mad at her. Yeah, I was hurt that she hadn't trusted me enough to tell me what had really happened, but in reality, it was a good call. I probably would have lost it had she told me that something else had happened other than her tripping over a root or something.

A girlish giggle had me turning to find a blushing Shelby hiding her face from an awestruck Seth. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You're just-you're beautiful. I can't believe we haven't met before."

Shelby giggled again and pulled her lip between her teeth. What was it with girls and chewing on their lips? Did every girl do that? _No_, I thought to myself. _Bella never did it, and she still doesn't._ But Bells was a special case all the way around. That girl had been wired weird to begin with.

Speaking of the Cullens, Nessie had just turned down the drive with Sam, ever watchful, at her back. Her hands were tucked into her jeans pockets, a frown on her face, and that damn lip between her teeth. The same feature in both girls, but totally different moods. Nessie was bothered by her thoughts while Shelby was all hot and bothered by Seth.

I tried to stay where I was and let them come to me, but Nessie was worrying at that lip so hard that it tore me up. She was so distracted that she didn't see me jogging through the slush of my dirt driveway, and made a high pitched squeak when I scooped her up.

"Jake!" she squealed. She put her hands on my shoulders as I spun her around and squeezed her to me.

"I'm so sorry, Ness," I whispered into her hair.

She hugged herself around my neck. "It's ok, Jake."

Pulling back, I studied her eyes. They were still troubled. "No, it's not. I shouldn't have left you back there."

She touched my face gently and studied me. "Jacob, it's ok. I freaked you out. In all honesty, I would have reacted the same way."

She wouldn't have. She'd have just looked relieved and hugged me, and then tried to threaten me into never scaring her like that again. She just wasn't capable of my kind of temper.

"Fine. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree."

She smiled at me, and it was a real smile. I was thankful for it.

"Are you guys gonna get a room?" a voice said from behind me. I let Ness slip down to her feet and turned to see Shelby and Seth grinning at us.

They looked great together. Seth was standing just behind her protectively. Even though he was enjoying the humor and laughing, I could see his eyes dart back and forth as if he were watching for anything that could hurt her. Yeah, now he was going to understand why Sam, Paul, and I act the way we do.

But it was good to see him in such good spirits. He'd feared that he was just going to have to settle and never imprint. I was glad it had finally happened for him. Hopefully, her integration would be a lot easier than Nessie's. And I hoped like hell that he didn't talk about imprinting in front of Nessie before I got to it. I'd have to talk to him later.

I grinned at him. "I could say the same about the two of you."

As predicted, Seth grinned so wide I was afraid his face would break and Shelby's face was so red that she looked like one of those old kickballs.

Nessie was looking between the two of them, grinning. "What?"

Shelby shuffled her feet, hiding a grin. "They're just kidding, Ness."

"Am not," I said. When she looked up at me, I raised my eyebrows, daring her to argue. She was as drawn to Seth as Seth was to her.

Shelby was just about to argue when there came a voice from the direction of the house.

"Why are you all standing out here? It's freezing and I need to see my son." Billy had appeared at the door in his wheelchair, grinning at us.

I never thought I'd be so happy to see him. That man had supported me through everything, and it couldn't have been easy for him when I'd gone and disappeared over nine years ago when I'd received Bella's wedding invitation. I squeezed Nessie's hand and looked at her.

She squeezed back and grinned, nodding to the house. "Go."

Quickly kissing her hand, I dropped it and ran for the house. After that disappearing act I'd made and come back, Billy and I had found a stronger relationship. However, I think that was due to Nessie coming into the picture. She'd toned me down so much that I was closer to my old self than I ever had been. She'd shown me that happiness was worth fighting for and that I had to make the best of what I had while I had it. And Billy loved her just as much as I did.

The hug I gave him was so great that I picked him up out of his chair. When I set him back down, we performed our father/son handshake that Nessie had made us create.

"It's good to have you back, Jake."

"Yeah, sorry I took so long getting down here."

He patted my arm. "It's alright, son. Sam called me, told me what was going on. We couldn't have you leave Nessie when she's having those terrible nightmares. Do we know what's going on with that scent?"

I glanced at Nessie, who was making her way toward us carefully in the freezing slush. "Not yet, but I have a feeling some information may come to light."

He nodded. "I see. How's Nessie? The Cullens?"

"They're all fine. But, dad, her nightmares are scaring me. She's having them when I'm here, in the same house. And they're so vivid that they affect her in here in reality. I honestly don't see how she wakes up with her heart beating. Edward says that a couple times her heart _has_ skipped some beats. It's like I have to be touching her to keep them away."

"Hmmm, well she is a fighter, Jake. That's why she's good for you. She'll always come back to you." He nudged me, and asked softly, "Have you told her, yet? Sam told me that things have been changing."

I sighed as Nessie reached us. "No, I haven't."

"Haven't what?" she asked, leaning into my arm. She smiled up at me and it was as if none of the weirdness between us had ever happened.

I leaned down to kiss her hair. "Figured out what all this crap is about."

"Why, hello there, Ness. How are you?" Billy grasped her hand and pulled her down for a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm fine, Billy. Sorry I kept Jake from you."

"Don't be silly, Ness. I had sixteen years with him before you came along. Seven days won't kill me." Keeping hold of her hand, he watched the two of us. My arm was wrapped around her shoulders while hers wound around my waist. "So, did you two hear about Paul and Rachel?"

Nessie nodded. "Oh yeah. We're Maid of Honor and Best Man." Nessie rested her head on my chest. "And Emily's pregnant."

Billy chuckled. "Yeah, I heard. And it's about time. We need a little one running around here. It's far too serious lately."

"Amen to that." Seth had come up to stand next to us with Shelby close by.

Introductions were made and Billy invited us to stay for dinner. Sam bowed out, saying that he needed to get back to Emily. While the rest of us sat around the table, I couldn't help but watch them and feel thankful for them, especially Nessie. Her kindness and innocence had brought us all together in this moment. She was to thank for all of the good that had happened since the Volturi left that last time.

After everybody was finished eating, Nessie and I cleared the table and started washing the dishes. She washed and I dried while Billy talked to Seth and Shelby. I could tell that he liked Shelby and knew that Seth had imprinted on her. Beside me, Nessie sighed, her teeth worrying at her lip. At the rate she was chewing on it, she _would_ leave a mark.

I touched her cheek gently. "Hey, you ok?"

She released her lip and smiled. "Yeah, sure. I meant to ask how your meeting went today."

There was something on her mind, but I didn't nag her about it. I was tired of being nervous and anxious about how things would turn out. I just wanted to keep her safe. "It went ok, I guess. Found out that a couple of Sam's wolves smelled that scent too, but had thought it was just a rabid animal. Your family came down to listen and add their input."

She nodded absently. "Do you guys have any ideas as to what it could be?"

"No, but another deer was found. Most of it had been eaten though."

"Hmmm, maybe it's a random mountain lion." She'd made the suggestion, but it wasn't heartfelt.

I put the rag down and pushed the dish she'd been scrubbing into the sink. "Ness, is there something you'd like to talk about?"

When she looked up at me, there were tears in her eyes. To my surprise, she nodded. "Yeah, but later." Her eyes flicked to Shelby.

Ah, right. Speaking of Shelby, she was telling Billy that she really needed to get back home before the roads froze all the way.

Nessie turned to her. "Would like some company?"

Shelby blushed. "Um, well, Seth already volunteered."

"Oh, well, maybe we can hang out another day." She went over to hug Shelby. "I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with you."

Shelby leaned back. "It's ok, Ness. Look, I know that I don't know everything that's going on, but you seem really busy and worried. We'll find some girl time later, ok?"

Ness looked close to happy tears. "Ok. I promise I won't be so distracted next time."

Not long after that, Seth helped Shelby into her coat and they took off for her house. Nessie, Billy, and I chatted for a while, but I could see that the worry was back in her and she was tired. So I helped her into her coat.

Just before we were about to leave, Billy took me aside. "Jacob, I know that you think you have to tell her about imprinting, but in all reality, you don't. She loves you with or without that tie."

I shook my head. "No, dad. She deserves to know. I just need to get my act together and quit being that sixteen year old kid."

He studied me for a while and then clapped me on the back. "Well, no matter what you do or don't tell her, just take care of her. Just love her."

I promised to do as he said. I'd take care of her. And above all, I'd love her.

**RPOV**

On our way back up to the house, Jacob wrapped his arm around me, hugging me close, telling me to watch my step. The skin between his eyes was puckered as he thought about something. It was probably whatever Billy had told him before we left.

But he knew I was holding something back from him. He'd told me as much when we were washing the dishes. And I would tell him everything once we got home. He deserved the truth.

I was glad, however, that he was distracted in his own thoughts at the moment because out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white blur in the trees. He stopped at the very edge to watch us, his breath huffing in the cold air. We must have been upwind because I couldn't smell his scent, which I was grateful for. But as we got closer to him, I could see a long gash on his muzzle.

A gasp came out, and it got Jacob's attention just as the wolf melted back into the trees. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'll tell you when we get home."

He gave me a look but nodded. I was thankful that he didn't press me on it.

When we arrived to the Cullen house, however, all thoughts of that were erased when I saw my family gathered in the living room, all looking like catastrophe had struck. Jacob was on instant alert while I counted for my parents and the rest. Everybody was there, so I didn't see the reason for the looks.

"What is it? What happened?" Jacob demanded.

Mom and Dad came to stand in front of me. Dad put a hand on my shoulder. "Nessie, I'm sorry."

That made me panic. "Sorry? For what?"

"Nahuel."

"What do you mean? What about him?"

Mom hugged her arms around herself. "His aunt called us today while you were down at the reservation. He was attacked and killed. By werewolves."

My hand flew to my mouth as I gasped. "What?" I whispered. And then a thought occurred to me. A thought that made my blood freeze. "When?"

"She said that it happened today. Once the wolves killed him, they took off, leaving her alive."

The air was too thick to breathe. My lungs just weren't working right. I'd only met him a handful of times but we'd gotten along really well. I stepped into Jacob, grabbing for his sleeve.

"I-I need to talk to you. Right now."

He let me drag him back out the front door. I mentally let my shield down to tell Dad, _Don't follow. I need to speak with him alone, please. Give us some privacy._ And then I put it back in place.

Before I could drag Jake another step, he grabbed me and pulled me to a stop. "Nessie, what is it. What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath. The air was colder, crisper, out here. It was easier to take in. Closing my eyes, I said, "Jacob, I'm so sorry that I lied to you. And you know I did."

"Ness-,"

"I didn't fall asleep in any damn tree, ok?!" I screamed, turning to face him. Tears had started to fall down my cheeks. "I was in that clearing and two wolves were there. The big grey one was about to attack me when the smaller white one saved me. He attacked the grey one to the ground. I wasn't running because I heard you yelling for me. I was running because I was terrified. And then, tonight, when I gasped and you asked me what it was, it was the white wolf. He was watching us, but he had a giant gash on his muzzle." I was a rambling, crying mess, and I clung to Jacob's arms where he'd wrapped them around me. "Jacob, I was so scared that I was going to die in that clearing. I thought I'd never see you again, that I'd never get a chance to tell you I love you every again."

He pulled me to his chest and rocked me. "It's ok, Ness. It's ok. We'll figure this out."

"And now Nahuel is dead, attacked by werewolves on the very same day that I was nearly attacked." I pushed a little away from him. "It's not a coincidence, Jake."

He stroked my hair. "Ok, ok. Just calm down. We can't get to the bottom of this with you hysterical, ok?" He hugged me against him again. "Just breathe. I'll keep you safe, but I need you to help me out a little."

I frowned and pulled back again. "Are you still mad at me?"

"No, sweetheart. I'm just glad that you told me and that you're safe. I owe that wolf that saved you." He tugged on my shoulders. "Now, come on. Let's get inside. I don't want to test the theory of you not being able to get a cold."

I was met at the door with my parents, who hugged me close. Even though I'd asked for privacy, they couldn't help but hear what I'd said. After everybody else got their own hugs, I pulled Jake up to my room with me. I wasn't feeling very up to being without him tonight. And we both needed sleep. He had early morning patrol shift anyway.

"Hey, Ness," he said as we made our way up to my room.

"Yeah?"

"You need to hunt. We should go together tomorrow after my patrol shift."

I turned to look at him. "Is it safe?"

He shook his head. "We'll stay within the patrol range. And we'll take Seth. I won't risk it. Sam and I have told all our wolves to pair up."

"Ok, well, as long as you're sure. I trust you."

"Do you?"

I nodded. "I do, Jake. I'm sorry I lied to you. Really, I don't know why I did it. And it felt so wrong."

He nodded. "It felt wrong to hear it come from you."

His eyes were so hurt. I put my hand on his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Jacob. I will never _ever_ lie to you again."

"Promise?" he whispered.

I smiled at my own favorite word being thrown at me. "I promise."

The next few days were so uneventful it was like nothing had ever happened. The weird scents vanished, no more shredded deer, and no more strangeness between me and Jake. It was like a start over. We'd gone hunting after his patrol shift, racing each other through the left over snow. The loss of Nahuel was still there and it tore at me. But Mom and Dad had told me that he'd have been glad to know that I hadn't gotten hurt. It didn't cure the pain of the loss, though.

Shelby and I had taken a day to go to Port Angeles to have our girls' day out. She couldn't stop gushing about how great Seth was. They'd been out together every night since the night they met. He was the perfect gentleman, opening doors for her and pulling out her chair.

We were currently in the same boutique that I'd been in with Aunt Alice and Aunt Rosalie a few days ago. And Shelby was shopping for me, like she always did. She always felt like she could better dress me than herself. Not to mention that she didn't like "spending my family's money". That always made me snort.

So I shopped for her while she searched through the winter clothes and dresses all while chatting at me with the same arguments my aunts had used.

"Look, I know that you and Jacob have a thing even though you won't admit to it," she said, sorting through the underwear. This boutique was well known to circulate their new stuff quite frequently.

I felt my eyes bug out of my head. "Are you kidding me? This is about Jacob?"

"Correction. This is about _you _and Jacob. Eventually, there will come a day when he gets you all alone. It'll be like a book or a movie. You both will realize that you've been wanting each other and loving each other all at the same time." She made little Broadway movements with her hands. "Enter romantic music, connecting lustful eyes, and BAM! He'll have you in a liplock so fast your head will spin." If I had been drinking anything, I would have spit it all over the place. "Ugh, why are you so hard to shop for? Nothing in here matches all of you. If one thing goes with your hair, it does nothing for your curves. Dammit."

I started sorting through winter skirts. "Speaking of sweeping people off their feet, don't you want to dress for Seth? Jake says it's pretty serious already." I couldn't help the smile when she glared at me.

She threw a pair of red see-through underwear at me. "Seth's a good guy, ok? He's not a douche like the guys our age."

"I know. Hey, I'm happy for you. He seems really into you. And he's a total keeper."

She got this really dreamy look in her eyes as we continued holding garments up to each other. Eventually we found each other complete outfits. Shelby protested when I whipped out the credit card, but one look from me shut her up.

We had moved on to a small café sipping on hot chocolate when Shelby locked eyes with me. "Seriously, Ness. Why aren't you and Jake a thing? There's so much chemistry there that it should burn a hole in everything. That man is head over heels for you."

I sighed. "It's complicated, Shelbs."

She glared at me. "Fine. Tell me you aren't in love with him. If you tell me you're not, I will smack you for lying to me. I see how you look at him."

I sighed again. "Ok, yeah. I love him. He just doesn't seem to reciprocate."

She gave me a look. "Are you kidding? Do I really have to smack the eyesight back into you? Ness, wake up, and look at him. He would do anything for you. Why can't you just tell him how you feel?"

"Because I don't want to risk the rejection, Shelby. What if you're wrong?"

"Renesmee Cullen, he doesn't spend all that time with you just because you two are such great friends. He does it to protect you. Look, I know that there are weird things going on with your family and the rez. I know that Jacob and Seth are different than whatever you and the Cullens are. A man that wasn't in love with a woman would not stay around this long. The other day when I was down at the rez, he could barely keep his hands off you. He had to touch you. Hell, the man sleeps in your bed with you just because you have nightmares. How many women can say that?"

When she put it like that, everything made sense. I did love Jacob, and everything he does for me is everything that I'd do for him. And Jacob has always listened to me. When had he ever turned me away? Never.

So Shelby was right. I needed to tell Jacob that I was in love with him. I might get rejected, but at least he'd know why I was acting the way I had been. But the fear choked me.

Shelby leaned forward to place her hand on mine. "Nessie, trust me. I'm not the only one who can see it. Emily told me that when you were born Jake did something. I can't remember the exact word she used but I'm guessing it was some sort of rez thing. She said that it had tied the two of you together. And the way you two look at each other tells me she's right."

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I'd been told that once Jacob had taken one look at me, I'd had him wrapped around my finger. Jake had been in my life ever since.

Maybe she was right. Maybe Jacob _was_ in love with me. The thought brought a small smile to my face.

As I was imagining those words leaving Jacob's lips in a meaningful way, Shelby snapped her fingers the way people do when they've remembered something.

"Imprint. Emily said he'd imprinted."

* * *

**Hmmm...exciting much? Now, we're getting to the point that I am so excited to write. It's been slow up to this point. It's going to get a little dramatic here soon. And I wouldn't mind reviews. You guys are awesome!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11! Woo hoo! I kinda feel like I need to make up for the last chapter. Please forgive me that it wasn't all that awesome. Or at least I wasn't thrilled with it. I was so sick yesterday and I was just trying to get something out to you guys. But I believe this chapter totally makes up for it. I LOVE this chapter. We get a POV from Shelby and some totally sweet dreams from Nessie. However, the drama is coming so enjoy the sweetness.**

**Sadly, I don't own the Twilight world. But I seriously own this chapter. :)**

**Please, enjoy!**

**JPOV**

Two weeks have passes since all the drama, and things have been normal and not so normal.

Nessie is no longer shy. That was good. What freaked me out was her confidence had sky-rocketed. She always gave me secretive smiles, snuggled up to me and sighed contentedly, and pressed her foot over mine when we ate together. And she'd started sitting between my legs when we were all watching a movie.

At the moment, I was on the couch with Nessie between my legs on the floor. She was currently getting creamed at chess with Jasper. But he was always happy when the game was over because she was apparently getting better.

What else wasn't normal? Edward's growls and huffs had completely disappeared. Instead I always found him with a smile on his face when he watched us. It was kind of creepy. I mean, I'd been waiting for the day that I could finally have Nessie like this without Edward chewing my tail off, but I had expected having to tell her about imprinting first.

And then a thought occurred to me. Seth. He must have spilled too close to her.

"Hey, Ness. Scooch up a bit. I need to go find Seth."

She scooted up so that I could stand up and move out from behind her without kicking her. She smiled up at me. And another revelation hit me: that smile was a couple's smile. She wasn't shy anymore. She was going to treat me the way she felt like, which was as girl likes a guy…in that way. I wasn't quite sure what to do with that, but I wasn't going to start acting weird again. It was good to see her back to "normal".

"Something up?" she asked while Jasper reset the chess board.

"Nah, I just need to ask him something." I bent down to kiss her forehead, and she leaned into it with a sigh. "I'll be right back."

I went outside through the back door. Seth was on patrol so I needed to phase. I went to the tree line, stripped down, and phased.

_Seth,_ I growled in my head.

_Yeah, what's up, man?_

_You and I need to have a chat._

_Uh-oh. What happened?_

_You tell me. Did you spill about imprinting? If you told Shelby, that's one thing. But was Ness around when you did?_

_Whoa, Jake. I haven't told Shelby anything. We've only had, like, ten dates. She's a great kisser but I don't know if she's ready to know about all that._

I snorted in my head. _Trust me, Seth. She knows we're different. She also knows that the Cullens and Ness are different. You could probably tell her anything and she'd believe you._

_Really?_ He sounded excited about that prospect.

_Seth, focus. We're not talking about you and Shelbs. I need to know if someone else told Nessie about imprinting._

_Not that I know of. I mean, Shelby told me that she'd had a chat with Nessie._

_About what?_

_It was on their girls' day a while back. She said they were having girl talk about us boys and the two of you came. Shelby said she'd enlightened Ness to the fact that you're in love with her. And when Ness finally got that "I believe you" look, she got this sappy smile on her face. Why are you asking about this? What's going on?_

_Nothing. Nessie's just acting strange, but a different strange than a couple weeks ago. Her confidence has gone through the roof._

_That doesn't mean she knows, man. Maybe she's just decided that she's tired of beating around the bush. She's showing you how she wants it to be. That's not a bad thing._

_Yeah, maybe you're right. So…Shelby's a good kisser, huh? Think I should tell Ness that you're sucking face with her best friend?_

_Dude, she already knows._

We both laughed. He had a point. Ness and Shelby had started spending a lot more time together now that Shelby was allowed down into the rez. Nothing could hurt her now that Seth had imprinted on her.

_Alright, man. Sorry for yelling at you. How's the shift?_

_It's cool. We all know how difficult this is for you. But all in all, haven't found a damn thing. It's so weird how it just disappeared._

_My guess is that when they didn't get Ness at the same time they got Nahuel, they backed off. They need to regroup before attacking again. Something is definitely up. Keep a sharp eye._

_Will do._

With that I phased back. I could breathe easier knowing that she hadn't found out and was just acting this way because this was how she wanted it. I guess I could tell her once we got more comfortable with this new shift in moods.

When I got back inside, Ness was popping a movie into the dvd player and I could hear nobody else in the house. "Where'd everybody go?" I asked, sitting on the couch once more.

She turned around and smiled at me. "Hunting. Uncle Emmett got a hankering for Grizzly and Dad wanted some mountain lion. They all decided to go together." A loud thud came from upstairs making Nessie flinch. "Except Aunt Alice. I made the mistake of mentioning Rachel's wedding. She's angry at us."

"Us? What did I do?"

"You didn't tell her either, Jake. That makes you a guilty party."

I chuckled. "Sorry, Shortie."

From upstairs came, "Shut up, mutt."

Nessie and I both laughed as she snuggled up next to me. When I didn't lift my arm, she did it for me and wrapped it around her.

"Everything ok?" she asked.

I kissed her forehead gently. "Yeah. Everything's good."

Except for the movie part. When it started, I groaned. It was that sappy romantic that always made her cry.

She giggled and smacked my chest. "Shut up, Jake. You know you secretly love it."

I grabbed her hand and held on to it. "Like, not love. What I love is watching you cry every single time."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Fine. I just won't cry this time."

But she'd lied. She did cry.

**Shelby POV**

Well, it was about damn time that Ness was treating Jake the way a woman in love treats her man. I mean, jeez. We all knew there was something there. How the hell could she even think that she'd get rejected by Jake?

But I was now thinking that it might not have been the best idea telling her about what Emily had said about the imprinting part. And I'm pretty sure that that's what had happened with me and Seth.

Seth had just gotten off his patrol and had come to pick me up. After I'd asked him about the rez and the Cullens he'd cracked like a cheap piece of glass and had told me everything. The wolves, the cold ones, and the Volturi. I even knew some of Nessie's story.

Seth and I were currently walking down to the rez while he told me about Jake phasing and interrogating him.

"He'd asked me if I'd told her. I don't know why since I knew he wanted to be the one to do it." That made me flinch. "But honestly, if someone had told her I would congratulate them because that ball really needs to get rolling."

I couldn't stand it. I had to know, so I interrupted his ramblings. "Seth, did you imprint on me?"

He froze in mid-step. "I never said that word, Shelbs. Where did you hear it?"

"It doesn't matter. I wanna know what it is and if you've done it with me. All I know is that it's some sort of connection."

Those dark eyes watched me, worried. "You didn't mention that to Ness, did you?"

My cheeks gave me away as a flush rose in them. "Maybe. But I didn't know I wasn't supposed to. She didn't even seem to know what it was."

He took in a deep, relieved breath. "Good."

"Seth, what is it?"

"If I tell you, promise me you won't go to Nessie? I mean, if she comes to you that's one thing, but if you go to her…let's just say that Jake wouldn't be too happy."

I didn't like that at all. She was my best friend and deserved to know what was going on. But, on the other hand, if it was that intimate, then maybe it needed to be Jake to tell her. I nodded. "Ok, Seth. I promise I won't tell her."

He took in a deep breath that puffed out in the chilly air. "Ok, imprinting. Well, it's our way of finding the perfect mate, the woman that's best equipped to help us carry on the gene. We're actually made to go against vampires. That's what we're built for. We are the tribe's defense. And our mates help keep that in the blood." He took my hands in his very warm ones. "It's not a choice. It just happens. As soon as I saw you, I was yours in every way. I belong to you. You hold my leash." I laughed at that. "Whatever you wanna call it, that's what I am. My job is to keep you, and if you pick me, any children we may have, safe." He pushed my hair behind my hair. "You're one of the weird ones now. You're one of us."

"So you did imprint on me?"

He nodded. "I did. And I am loving every moment of it."

As he leaned in to kiss me, snow started to fall around us. Not surprising since the weather guys had been shouting it for days now. When his lips touched mine, it was perfect. I'd always wanted to be kissed in the snow.

I pulled back just enough to talk. "Seth?"

"Hmm?"

"I chose you. It will always be you."

His grin was so bright he could have gone for toothpaste commercials. He kissed me again and picked me up around the waist, spinning me around.

I was laughing so I was surprised that I could spit out, "Seth, stop. You'll slip in the ice."

He came to a stop and brought our faces together. "I'd take the fall."

"I know," I whispered, leaning in.

And before our lips touched again, I had an enormous wave of guilt crash into me. I was so happy with Seth and I'd only known him for a couple weeks. Ness had been with Jacob for years and she'd been miserable until lately. I mean, things still weren't where they should be with the two of them. It made me feel terrible. They deserved to be as happy as we were.

"What's wrong?" Seth asked as he set me on my feet but kept one of my hands in his.

I shook my head. "I just wish that Jake and Ness could be where we are, you know? They deserve to be happy with each other."

He pulled me into his side. "I know. They'll get there, but I'm glad you mentioned it to Ness."

"You are?"

"Yeah. I was contemplating making an accidental slip of my own. I don't know who told you. I can guess, but I'm glad it happened. Maybe something good will come out of it."

"I sure hope so," I said at the same time I was praying that I hadn't made a huge mistake.

**RPOV**

That night Jacob and I had a movie marathon. Since I'd watched my favorite sappy movie, I let him pick every other movie that we watched. Of course he picked action, werewolf, and vampire movies, but I didn't mind. I was just happy that he was going with the flow of my emotions. He'd let me cuddle up next to him. I was more surprised that he let me sit between his legs earlier when I was playing chess with Uncle Jasper. But that was one of my favorite places to be. I felt safe. It was weird but true.

By the time the last movie was over, my family still hadn't come back and the house was quiet. When I yawned, Jake hauled me off the couch and up to my room. While he was in the bathroom, I quickly changed into a pair of sleep shorts, slipped off my bra, and pulled on one of his old long-sleeved t-shirts. I had quit sleeping under the covers, and cuddling up next to him kept me warm all night.

He came back dressed in cut off sweats and a ribbed tank top. The black looked good against his tan skin and the muscled up his arms. He really was beautiful. As soon as he was on the bed, I snuggled up to him.

I wanted him comfy for the conversation that I'd been stewing over all day. I'd come up with a plan so that Jacob and I wouldn't have to be apart when he was up north. The only problem was I knew what his answer was going to be. But I had to try.

Once he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer, I took a deep breath. "Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"You have to go back to the Makah reservation, right?"

He leaned back to study me. "Yeah. Why?"

I watched the smooth expanse of his neck rather than look him in the eye as I said what I'd been thinking about all day. "What if I went with you?" I pressed my fingers to his lips before he could protest. "I know that you're going to say no, but I want you think about my argument." He gave me a look, but nodded, kissing my fingers. I loved the feel of his lips on my skin. "Remember how it was here when you introduced me to your tribe, and Carlisle explained what kind of vampire we are? We could do that again. I look human enough to keep them calm."

He was already shaking his head, talking around my fingers. "Nessie, I appreciate you wanting to help. I really do. But even if I had backup, I couldn't protect you from all of them if they came after us."

"Jake, the least we can do is try. Just ask them if they'll allow me up there. I'll talk to anyone that wants to listen. I _can _take care of myself, you know. You, Dad, and my uncles did see to that."

He was back to shaking his head. "The answer is no. Look, can we not talk about this right now? We had a good day. Let's just go to sleep, ok?"

I looked away from his face. I understood his reasons, but I just wanted this over. Those nightmares were going to come back when he left again, even though he was only going to be gone for one night. One night was going to be torture. Didn't he care about that? About me?

He smoothed a finger between my eyes. "Nessie, we'll get through this. And then I'll never leave again. I'll be here with you."

"What about the nightmares?" I whispered.

He cursed under his breath. "Can't I just leave something with my scent on it? Wear one of my t-shirts, the ones that I wear now, not my old ones. My old ones smell like you. Hell, sleep in my whole closet for all I care." He squeezed me to him. "I don't want you having those nightmares. And if you even start to have one, I'm going to tell Edward to wake you up."

"You think the scent thing will work?"

Unexpectedly, he blushed. "Well, it works for calming down dogs when they're being crate trained. If they have the scent of their owner, they'll think the person is close to them, and it calms them down."

Now I know why he'd blushed. He was comparing me to a dog, but I didn't hold it against him. It was cute that he knew that. I wasn't satisfied, though, that I hadn't gotten what I wanted. I wanted to be useful. Useful didn't describe me when I was left down here screaming my lungs out from seeing Jacob with his throat torn out in my dreams.

"Ok, we'll talk about his tomorrow, Jake. You blushing was the highlight tonight. Tomorrow we'll fight about it."

He grinned at me, always ready for a fight with me.

And without thinking, I craned my neck up to press my lips to his.

**JPOV**

I was still in shock. After she kissed me, she'd ducked down to press her forehead against my chest. No doubt, she was hiding her blush. I'm glad she couldn't see my face because I was busy trying to hide my stupid grin.

Though it was brief, her lips had been warm and soft against mine. It was perfect, and way too short.

And that was when I realized that I had been enjoying her acting like my girlfriend even though we hadn't had "the talk". That talk that made us official. But really, we didn't need it. I was sleeping in her damn bed, and had been for years.

"Sorry, Jake."

I pulled back to see her with tears in her eyes. It kind of panicked me. "For what?"

"K-kissing you. I probably shouldn't have."

I laughed and hugged her tighter. "Nessie, don't ever apologizing for doing stuff that feels right to you. What you did was impulsive. That means that you didn't even think about it. That was what you were feeling, so you did it. You have no idea how many times I could just say or do whatever comes to my mind first without me thinking about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Stop worrying so much."

She gave me a sleepy smile. "Ok, Jake. I'll try."

"Promise?" I whispered.

"Promise," she whispered back.

Her dreams were peaceful again. I knew this because her hand was pressed to my neck again. And again I sucked into dreams that involved me.

I was thrown into a bedroom. One that I'd never seen before. The bed was king-sized with a modern headboard that had little cubbies carved out of it. The room was done in black, white, and red.

And speaking of the bed, Nessie and Dream-Jacob were cuddled up under a burgundy velvet blanket. The ring that I noticed first was on Dream-Jacob's finger. It looked like platinum. It was weird to see it because I normally didn't wear things that I didn't have to. But it looked good there against Nessie's white skin where that arm wrapped around her.

From the angle I was standing, Nessie didn't have clothes on under that blanket. There were no undershirt straps or bra straps. In fact, as I looked around the room, there were bits and pieces of clothing strewn around, as if the two of them had undressed in a hurry.

The one thing that I noticed, though, that stuck with me was the ring on Nessie's ring finger as it rested against my chest. I'd know that ring anywhere. It was white gold with diamonds spread around the band at intervals. The spaces between the diamonds were filled with hand carved wolves. I knew that ring because Billy had had it made for the woman he loved.

That ring was my mother's.

I wondered how she knew what it looked like for a moment, but then I remembered Billy showing it to her a few years ago. What had Billy said to her all those years ago?

_"It's so pretty," she said, holding the ring as if it were fragile glass._

_"You like it?"_

_She beamed up at him and nodded. "Uh-huh."_

_He hugged her close. "Well, maybe someday you'll have one just like it."_

Coming out of the memory, I realized that she'd understood what he meant. The evidence was there on her finger. She might not have actually realized it, but she'd known all along that we were going to end up together.

Suddenly, I like the idea of this scene as Dream-Jacob tilted her head up so he could kiss her mouth softly. She grinned at him and flexed her left hand as if she were still getting used to the ring. They both looked at her hand, and he took it in his so that he could play with it. While he was busy with her hand, she bent to press her lips to his chest. It made him shiver as he looked down at her.

When she grinned at him again in a way that I'd never seen her look at me, he tightened that arm around her and lifted her up on top of him. She rested her hands on his chest as she sat up. The blanket slipped down to her waist, baring her back. The only thing that covered her was her hair. Luckily, I couldn't see anything except the look on my dreamself's face.

Just as Dream-Jacob was lifting his arms, the dream shifted. And what I saw brought me to my knees.

It was me, in a yard, chasing a dark-skinned, black-haired little boy who was giggling and screaming. My dreamself was on all fours crawling around and play-growling, trying to catch him as he ran around.

I looked over to see Nessie standing there, her belly slightly swollen with another young. Another child was standing just behind her legs, gripping them tightly. The girl was only a year or so younger than the boy, but looked more like her mother than me. She had dark auburn curls that ran down her back, and her eyes were a mix between Edward's gold and my brown, nearly black. Her skin was caramel, not quite as dark as the boy's.

The eyes kind of threw me off since Edward's eyes changed with what he put in his diet, but this was Nessie's dream. Clearly, she hoped that she carried enough of that gene that it passed on to her children.

And I could tell through her burst of emotions that this one was her favorite. It was mine as well.

There was a girlish giggle that I knew well. "Come on, you two. Dinner will be ready soon, and you, Daddy, get to clean up your little boy."

Dream-Jacob quickly scooped up the screaming boy, threw him up in the air, and blew a raspberry on his chubby tummy. He squealed even louder and put his hands in his dad's hair. Dream-Jacob tucked him under one arm, went to Nessie and kissed her.

"Yes, dear." He grinned at her and rubbed her swollen stomach before he knelt down in front of the girl. "Jules, you wanna come with daddy and Will to wash up?" He held out a hand for her. When she took it, he lifted her up. She finally cracked a smile, and that was the nail in the coffin. If she ever existed, she'd melt my heart so fast it wouldn't be funny. She looked just like her mother.

I watched as the Black family walked in the blurry cottage that Ness hadn't felt necessary to complete.

Before she closed the door, Nessie played with her wedding band, and then rubbed her hand over our unborn child, and smiled.

* * *

**I adore your reviews. You guys are awesome. Seriously. **


	13. Chapter 12

**Ok, guys, here's Chapter 12. This one is the chapter that I've had in my head since I read Breaking Dawn. So it's been there for a while. And this one was so emotional for me. I feel so sorry for them both. I don't want to give anything away because this is just something that I've been dying to get to. **

**Another note, I've been reading my last posted chapters and the typos are killing me. Please disregard those. I'm not usually that sloppy, but I've been in such a hurry to get to this point in the story and for you guys to read it that I haven't been watching my words as closely as I should. **

**But anywhozzle. I don't own the Twilight universe. Wish I did, but I don't.**

**Please enjoy this one. But I have to say that it made me tear up a little...ok, a lot. But still.**

* * *

**JPOV**

I woke to a loud thud and Nessie jumping in my arms.

"What-what was that?" she mumbled against my chest.

"You two had better get your butts out of bed. We have work to do!" Alice's voice was sharp as a tack. "And I don't mean in twenty minutes. NOW!"

"Something's got her panties in a twist," I mumbled into Nessie's hair.

She giggled sleepily. "What is she talking about?"

Before I could tell her I didn't know, there was another loud thud on the door. "I'm talking about your mutt's sister's wedding! That's what!"

"Oh, go jump in a tub of glitter," I grumbled.

"How about I dump _you_ in a tub of glitter? Get. Out. Of. Bed!"

Nessie pulled back from me with a sleepy grin. "Good morning."

"Morning, sweetie. How'd you sleep?"

"You were here, so just fine."

I couldn't help but smile at her. I loved that she needed me. "I guess we better get out of bed before your sweet sweet aunt comes to drag us out by our hair."

She smiled and swiped my hair out of my eyes. "Speaking of hair, you're due for a cut. It's getting too long. You'll wear yourself out on your patrols."

"I'm not sure I want that little pixie near me with a pair of scissors right now."

"You bet your sweet tail, you don't!" a yell came from downstairs.

There was a soft laugh before the piano started up with a tune that I'd never heard. Apparently, though, Nessie had because she smiled and snuggled closer to me.

"Come downstairs, Jake. I'll do it for you." Bella was somewhere in the direction of the kitchen. I hoped she was making breakfast. I was starving, and by the sound of it, so was Nessie.

Someone snorted downstairs. I knew that sound. It was Edward. "The kitchen?" he said. "You'll be lucky to get off the stairs alive."

Nessie sighed having heard him. "I'll take care of her. You get something to eat and your hair cut, ok?"

I kissed her nose. "You're a saint."

"Nope. I'm your only hope of leaving this house alive and with all your limbs attached."

"You need to eat, too."

She smiled and patted my stomach. I didn't think she meant to do it on purpose, but her nails scraped across the muscles under my tank, and it took me back to her dream. Man, I wanted that so bad.

"It's ok, Jake. You eat more than I do, so I can wait."

I grinned when my stomach rumbled appreciatively. "Nah. I'll wait for you."

My body threw her into shadow as the sun started to rise. My back was to that massive window that served as a wall, but her smile brightened the entire room. "Don't be a hero, Jacob. Be nice to your stomach, or you'll end up eating too much. You know how you get when you eat too much."

I couldn't help but laugh. She always compared me to a fat puppy that had to roll around in order to get where I wanted.

She sighed and kissed my neck. A burst of peacefulness popped into my head. She was projecting again. "I guess we'd better get up."

We took turns taking showers. She went first because hers took the longest, and I didn't need super-hot water. While she was in there, I studied the pictures on the walls. There were so many of them that the walls themselves were no longer visible. Pictures of her and Shelby. Her and Seth. Her and Sam and Emily. Her and the other Cullens. But the majority was her and me.

The pictures that caught my attention were the most recent that had been taken. Only a month or so ago. She'd grown up so much that we really did look like a couple without trying. My eyes found the one that was taken on a snow day just a couple weeks before the most recent storm. Nessie's hair was down but capped off by a purple knit hat. A scarf made of the same stuff wrapped around her neck, the purple framing her face and hair nicely. I was standing just behind her, my arms wrapped around her waist, chin resting on her shoulder. We were both smiling, but only she was looking at the camera. I was staring at her.

"That's my favorite one," a voice said behind me.

I turned to find Nessie standing in the doorway in a robe. She was toweling off her long hair while she watched me.

"I love them all, but that one," she pointed at it with a nod from her head. "Hands down, it's my favorite."

"Why?" I whispered.

She shrugged and studied the picture. "Because we weren't worried about anything. There was no stress between us." She dropped her eyes. "I was me, and you were you. Just Nessie. Just Jacob. That's all we needed."

Just Nessie. Just Jacob. I sighed. She was right. When this picture was taken, Edward hadn't made my life difficult by telling me she was ready to hear about imprinting, we hadn't found a deer ripped to shreds in the forest, and Nessie hadn't almost been eaten by a different type of werewolf.

I sighed again. "Ness, I-,"

She touched my arm. "Jake, it's ok. Things happen, and we have to go with the flow."

With that, she went to the massive walk-in closet that housed her clothes and what little of mine existed. In defeat, I went to take my shower. It was a quick one, but ended up longer than usual because the memory of Nessie's dream last night popped into my head. It was the first one, just as it ended, with Nessie on top of her Dream-Jacob.

I wanted that so bad. I wanted to see her above me, comfortable to be like that with me. All of us had, at one time or other, had the sex talk with her. As she got older, her questions got trickier. When she'd had her first year in high school, though, she'd figured things out. And I knew that she knew what I sometimes had to do for relief.

Don't get me wrong, I was seriously messed up for even having to do this. But Nessie was mature enough to mate, and the wolf inside of me begged me to give in, to take her. I couldn't do that, but I could imagine that. This time around, I didn't feel so bad because her dreams echoed what mine could sometimes be like. I mean, I am a twenty-five year old man. I needed _something_ to release the tension.

I made the shower as quick as possible, especially with her father in the house. No doubt he was downstairs biting his tongue so hard it would probably fall off. Cringing, I sent out a silent apology.

I got out, dried off quickly, and threw on some old jeans and another black tank. Even though I felt like a creeper, I did feel a lot more relaxed. And Nessie seemed to realize it.

She came up to me after she'd tied the upper portion of her hair back and played her nails across my chest. "Feel better?" she asked.

The blush that raced up my neck and into my cheeks just couldn't be helped. She'd realized that my shower had taken longer than usual. Damn.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I do. You ready to go down?"

She sighed but took my hand. "Yeah, I guess we better get her wrath over with."

With her leading me, I had no choice but to follow. When we reached the first floor, I noticed Alice in the middle of the living room with all of her wedding planning stuff on the floor around her. I really wasn't sure that I wanted Nessie alone with her.

Nessie turned to me with a smile she was trying to pull back, but couldn't quite stop her lips from moving up at the corners. She pushed me toward the kitchen. I went reluctantly as she went for her aunt. I avoided Edward at all costs.

When I walked into the kitchen, I found that a chair had been pulled out from the table, and Bella was standing there with an electric razor and a pair of hair clippers.

"Have a seat, Jake. Breakfast should be ready by the time I get done with you."

So, I sat down and got comfy.

**RPOV**

Momma had positioned Jake's chair so that he could keep an eye on me with Aunt Alice. She was spread out all over the living room, including the couches and the tv. At the moment, she was studying one of my pictures of Paul and Rachel. I hadn't noticed it was missing. She must have taken it last night while Jake and I were on the couch.

"Seriously, Ness. Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a calmer voice.

I sighed. "Aunt Alice, some people like to plan their own weddings. If you're in the mood, go plan mine."

Alice looked at all her stuff. "Ness, I've had yours planned for years. I even have the groom's tux measurements."

At that, there was a sharp inhale and the entire house paused for just a moment, except the razor. There was no way her visions had told her who I was going to marry. One, they didn't work like that. And two, she couldn't see me.

"What? How can-,"

Alice shook her head and smiled. "I'm sorry. I was already back on Rachel's wedding. I already have Paul's tux measurements. She can't pick something else."

I didn't believe her. Sure she was frantic right now because she really wanted to do this wedding and she really needed to hunt, but that had slipped too easily. Maybe it was like Jacob said. If you say something without stopping to think about it, then it was what you really meant to say.

But I went with it anyway, putting my hands on my hips. "Well, what if _I_ want something different?"

Her face fell. "Oh, well, then I guess-,"

I couldn't help it. I caved. "I'm just kidding, Aunt Alice. Knowing you, I'd _love_ whatever you gave me." I pointed at her in fake stern. "But if any of the colors is pink, we'll need to have a talk." I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my head on her shoulder. "I love you, Aunt Alice. And your weddings are always the best."

"Thanks, Ness."

In the kitchen, the razor cut off and Momma said, "There. All done."

I turned to find Jake staring at me without any hair in his eyes. That was much better. As Mom and Esme cleaned up the hair, Esme told us to go ahead and grab some breakfast. Jacob liked how I prepared his food because I proportioned it better than he did. His eyes were always bigger than his stomach, so I went into the kitchen and got down two plates.

Mom and Esme had made French toast, bacon, scrambled eggs, and lemon poppyseed muffins. I piled Jake's plate, but not too high, and put a normal portion on mine. Usually I didn't eat all of mine and he'd eat what was left, so he was never hungry enough for a second plate of his own.

As we sat down, Dad came into the kitchen to wrap his arms around Momma. "So, Nessie, your dreams have been peaceful lately."

I finished my bite of bacon covered in syrup before answering. "Have they?"

He nodded.

Thinking back to all the nights since my last nightmare, I couldn't remember any of my dreams. But I knew that I hadn't woken up in the middle of the night since because Jacob had been sleeping with me.

"Hmm, I can't remember them. But I guess it's not a bad thing. At least I'm not waking up screaming." I nudged Jake with my foot and he smiled at me through a mouthful of eggs.

"This is true," Carlisle said, coming in to peck Esme on the cheek. "And you've gone back to hunting regularly, which is good."

"Well, the woods are safer, for now," Jacob piped in. "We haven't found anything out of the ordinary in two weeks. I feel safer taking her out."

"I'm starting to wonder if it will ever come back up," Seth's voice came from the backdoor. He grabbed a muffin before sitting down across from me and Jake.

The smile I had slipped as I thought about what he'd said. "It will. Nothing ever disappears like that."

"They went far enough to kill Nahuel on another continent. Who's to say they won't try for Nessie again?" Jake said before taking a sip of his orange juice. "I told Seth that they're probably just regrouping, trying to find a better way to get through us. It's kind of like how Victoria was. She couldn't get through us to Bella, but she could get away pretty fast."

"Who's Victoria?" I asked, confused.

"It's a long story, sweetie, but she blamed Edward for the loss of her mate so she wanted to take me from him. This was when I was still human." Mom shivered in Dad's arms.

"But when did this happen?"

"Back when your father and I first started seeing each other."

I realized that I still didn't know everything about my parents. It seemed that they'd had some exciting lives before I came around.

Jacob had finished his plate and had started picking at mine before I pushed it in front of him. With that kind of permission, he dug in. We all watched as Seth devoured another muffin, and Jake nearly licked a hole in the plate. I finally wrestled it from him and took both of our dishes and silverware to the sink.

"Anyway," Jacob said, leaning back in his chair. "Sam and I are still making the packs run in pairs, four on each patrol. If even one thing is off, they're supposed to howl to get our attention."

"What about when you go back up north?"

Jake sighed. "I was going to take Seth. But since Shelby's now in the picture, I'll talk to Embry or one of the others." I started to protest, bringing up my idea from last night, but Jake silenced me with a look and his hand. "Listen, Edward, when I'm gone and she even starts out having a nightmare, you wake her up. I don't want any more of hearing about her heart skipping beats. We clear?"

Dad looked like he was going to argue with Jacob giving him an order, but I knew that tone in the Alpha's voice. There was no arguing.

Eventually, Daddy nodded. "Ok, Jacob. I'll watch her closely."

"See that you do."

**JPOV**

I'd had to make Edward give me his word that he'd watch out for her. I'd needed to hear it. Edward knew that I felt exactly the same as he did about her. Except I was probably more anxious. Despite Nessie being his daughter, Bella was more his reason for existence, because Nessie was _my_ reason for existence. If she weren't here, I'd probably not be around. I'd probably be in Canada right now still in wolf form, trying to forget.

After breakfast, Nessie and I decided to head down to the rez. Quil had come up with the idea of throwing a giant bb-q to celebrate Paul's engagement and Emily's pregnancy. Nessie had wanted to go down early so that she could help the girls prepare the food while we boys got all the grills together. With all the wolves and imprints and family members coming out, there was going to be a lot of food and we needed every grill we could find. The Cullens had been invited, but they'd declined the offer saying it was more of a pack celebration and that they really needed to do some research on the other werewolves, but that they wished us a good time. I knew that was code for "too many wolves, not enough vampires". But I understood. Esme did make a giant bowl of pasta for us to take down as their contribution.

We were almost to my house when Nessie tugged on my hand, pulling me to a stop. "What's wrong?" I asked, scanning the woods and scenting the air.

She shook her head. "Nothing. I was just wondering…" she bit her lip. "When are you going back up to the other reservation?"

I sighed. "Ness, you're not going with me."

Her eyes dropped from mine. "No, I know that. I was just wondering so that I'd be prepared for it."

I hugged her to me with the one arm I had free. The other was full of pasta. "I'm sorry. This has got to be hard on you." I sighed. "Ok, I was thinking about this coming weekend. I'd leave Saturday morning so that you'd only be without me for one night. I'd come back Sunday afternoon."

"Ok," she whispered, and took my hand again.

"Ness, please don't be like this."

She ripped her hand away from mine and crossed her arms as we finished walking. "I can't help it, Jake." She sighed. "I know you have to do this, but I don't have to like it. You're allowed to be mad at me for stuff that I do that you don't like, but I can't be mad at you. _You_ don't have nightmares that make your heart stop."

I wanted more than anything to take her in my arms and promise her anything if it would just wipe that look of loss from her face. The anger was still there, too. It was in the way she held her shoulders, her arms still crossed over her stomach.

Instead of hugging her, though, I grabbed her arm and turned her to me when she'd started walking ahead of me. My anger matched hers. "Renesmee, my nightmare is a living one. Sleep is the only peace I get." Her eyes met mine. "Let me tell you something. I live in fear every single day that I might lose you. That you'll be away from me for five minutes and that'll be all it takes before you're ripped away from me. So don't tell me about _my_ nightmares."

She uncrossed her arms as tears filled her eyes. "You really were scared that day, weren't you? That's why you were so angry. You didn't want me to see the fear."

"Nessie, I didn't want you to think that I'm some overprotective fool. Your parents would be heartbroken if something happened to you because you're their only child. But they have each other to lean on. Me? Who do I have? I have nobody. You'd leave me alone in this world. And a world without you just doesn't make any sense to me."

The tears rolled down her face as I reached my hand out for hers. She took it and squeezed for all she was worth. "I'm sorry, Jake."

I brought her hand against my cheek. It was cool from the chilly air. "Just please don't assume that I don't care as much about you as you do about me. You have no idea."

The rest of the walk to my house, which was only a couple steps, was the least stressful of the entire trip down here. I knew there was still some tension, and that she still wanted to fight with me about it. But for these few seconds, it was nice having her thinking about how I feel about her.

**RPOV**

Jacob's words had hit me hard. He was fighting with me, daring me to tell him that I cared more for him than he did for me. And now that I knew what his fears were, I really didn't want him to go up there by himself, or at least without me. I knew he'd take back-up, but I wanted to be one of the people that went with him. So, while he was busy getting the grill loaded up into the truck that Dad had bought for both packs to use on the rez, I secretly packed a bag for me from the clothes that I kept here, and tucked it back into Rachel's old closet.

When he came back in to pack his own stuff, I was sitting on his tiny twin bed playing with one his dreamcatchers.

"Hey. Get the grill ready?" I asked.

"Yup, packed up nice and tight. Hopefully it won't rain." He went to his closet to grab a duffel bag that Emily had redesigned so that it would slip across his head and over the shoulder while he was in wolf form. His shoulders were so wide in that form that the bag would just sit there while ran. He said that it made life so much easier.

The paperwork and pre-written plans were still in there from last time so all he had to do was toss some clothes in there. As he just tossed them inside, I took them back out and folded them. His scent was everywhere in this room and it comforted me.

It comforted me so much that it made me a little brave. "Jake, why won't you just consider it?"

He straightened up from the closet to glare at me with a white t-shirt in his hands. "I thought we went over this, Ness."

I placed his folded clothes into the bag and met his eyes. "We did, but just hear me out."

"No means no."

"But-,"

"No 'buts'. End of conversation."

"But, Jake-,"

He threw the shirt he was holding into the bag. "Did I not just say end of conversation? I swear I did."

"Shut up!" I screamed. When he stared at me in shock, I continued. "Listen to me! You don't want to be away from me any more than I want to be away from you. You said yourself it scares you to be away from me." He was shaking his head but I didn't allow him room to talk. "What's the harm in asking? If they say no, ok, fine. If they say yes, then you and I can argue more about it."

He was breathing hard and his hands were balled into fists, but he was thinking about it.

"Jake, best friends have to learn to compromise. Every pair has to go through that phase some time."

"Fine," he said through his teeth. "I'll talk to Sam, see what he thinks" He pointed a finger at me as I grinned. "But if you go, then Embry and Leah are coming, too."

I leaped up onto my feet on the bed and wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you, Jake!"

He hugged me tight and buried his face in my hair. "I'm not making any promises."

"I didn't ask you to. I'm just asking you to try."

He sighed. "Ok. I'll try."

"Thank you." I pulled out of his arms, zipped up his bag, and handed it to him. "I'll go get the pasta. I still need to help the girls."

Jacob studied me for a long moment. "You really do love them, don't you?"

"Of course. They're family."

I knew Jacob wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he was willing to make me happy. And in all reality, I just wanted a little give and take.

The ride over to Sam's house was nice and peaceful. I was more relaxed than I had been in a while, and I guess Jake was relaxed because I was. He should meet me in the middle more often and then we'd both be happy.

Shelby and Emily were already in the kitchen. Emily was working on the steaks while Shelby peeled a lot of potatoes. Claire was going back and forth, picking up various trash that had accumulated on the counters between her drawing crusades. The refrigerator was covered in her artwork.

When she saw me walk through the door, she dropped her pencil and ran to me. "Nessie!" The force of her hug as she plastered herself to my legs nearly knocked me over. Luckily, Jake was standing behind me.

"Uncle Jake!" Now it was Jake's turn to get mauled as I took the bowl of pasta from his hands and placed it in the fridge.

"Hey, Claire. What are you working on?" Jake asked when she led him over to her seat so she could show him her stuff.

I looked over to find a picture of Jacob in wolf form propped against the salt shaker. It was a candid of him that I'd taken about three months ago. We'd been hunting and had gotten separated. Our meeting place was the river that ran near the Cullen house. He'd been taking a drink when the wind had brought a scent to his nose. He'd lifted his muzzle and closed his eyes. But I'd snapped the picture at the same moment that he'd opened those dark chocolate eyes. The sun had shone on him just right that the color of them had been turned to amber in the picture. Just the change in eye color made it seem like a different wolf altogether.

"Where'd you get that picture, Claire?" he asked, having never seen it before.

"Um," she mumbled, trying not to look at me. "Well,-,"

I laughed. "It was one of mine. I didn't know you had it."

A guilty look brushed her face. "I'm sorry. I know I should have asked, but I just wanted to draw it so much-,"

I shushed her. "It's ok, sweetie. I don't mind. In fact, I didn't even know it was missing. And I'm sure that you were going to put it back, right?"

She nodded fervently. "Of course."

I smiled down at her. "Then no harm done." And then I noticed her drawing. "Oh, Claire! It's beautiful!"

"You think so?"

I looked at Jake. He nodded. "Yeah, Claire. You have some serious talent."

"When you're done, would you mind if I had it framed?"

Her cheeks flushed. "Will you hang it in your room? That's where all the pretty stuff is."

"If you want me to, of course I will."

She flung her arms around me once more. "I love you, Nessie."

Her hair was silky as I stroked it. "I love you, too, Clairebear."

"Hey, Ness?"

I looked up to find Jake watching us with a weird look on his face. It was a soft look with a soft smile.

"Yeah, Jake?"

"Quil and I are gonna take the truck to go grab his grill, too. You wanna come or stay and help?"

Claire moved out of my arms to take up her drawing once more. Emily had moved on to making her homemade mac-n-cheese, and Shelby was still peeling potatoes. Seeing Shelby made me think about what Emily had told her. That word, imprinting, had stayed with me over the past couple weeks. This was my opportunity to ask about it. If I asked Jacob, he probably wouldn't tell me, but the way Shelby had made it sound left me wondering why he couldn't tell me.

I turned to him with a smile. "I think I'll stay here with the girls."

He bent down to kiss my forehead. "Well, if you girls need anything, just call. We'll be passing the store."

"Will do." I kissed his cheek as he pulled back. The blush was cute.

While I waited for the boys to leave, I grabbed the crockpot and a few cans of baked beans. Those and the potatoes were always the most popular side items around here. The beans needed to simmer all day instead of just get heated on the stove.

I was done with that small task when I heard the truck rev up and back down the driveway.

"Hey, Emily?"

"Hmm?" She was bent over the cheese grater.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?"

She stopped and turned to me. "Sure."

I nodded toward the door. "Privately?"

She sighed, like she already knew what this was about. Shelby looked a little guilty as well.

We stepped outside into the chilly afternoon air. All the boys were either still in the woods, on the front lawn, or had gone with Jake and Quil so the backyard was totally empty.

I turned to her, not one to beat around the bush. "So, tell me about imprinting."

Emily sighed again as she wrapped her shawl tighter around her. "Dammit. I knew I'd said too much. Of course, I don't blame Shelby. She didn't know."

"What is it, Emily? She'd said that you told her that it's what Jake did when I was born. Is it some sort of ceremony?"

She sighed again, her breath puffing out in a cloud. "Dammit, Jacob," she said to herself. "Ok, I'll tell you but only because I tend to lean more toward your side being an imprint myself. I think you should know. And I think Jacob is an idiot for not telling you when he realized that your feelings were changing. Hell, he should have told you the moment you were old enough to understand."

I let her rant. It seemed as if she'd been needing it. She said that she was an imprint, too. If that grouped us together, then she'd probably been bursting to tell Jacob how it's done.

She sat down on the porch step. "It's not a ceremony. It's something that the wolves do when they meet their true mate. The way Sam explained it to me, the moment he imprinted on me, I was his gravity. Nothing else held him to this planet but me. He'd also told me that I always had a choice. If I didn't want to be with him, I didn't have to. But, Ness, I never met anyone that could hold a candle to Sam. And that's the point. They become what we need them to be. When you were born, you didn't need a boyfriend or lover. You needed a protector. And that's what Jacob became. For you. As you grew, he became best friend and protector. Now, you see him differently."

"So the next step is boyfriend and protector, and then lover and protector." I gave myself points for not blushing at that. But in all honesty, now everything made sense and I embraced my feelings. One of those feelings was anger.

"Why didn't he tell me any of this?" I demanded.

She shook her head. "He kept telling Sam that he was scared of how you'd react."

"So he doesn't trust me."

Emily lifted her head, her eyes wide. "No, I didn't say that."

I crossed my arms. A gesture that I knew meant I was now closed off. "You didn't have to."

"Nessie, he trusts you."

"Then why didn't he tell me?!" I yelled. I shouldn't be yelling at her. This was her and Rachel's celebration dinner. She deserved to be happy. "I'm sorry, Em. I just don't understand how he couldn't have told me."

Taking my hands, she stood up. "It's not you he doesn't trust. It's him. He thinks that he won't be able to say it right. That you might think that you never had a choice. He wants you to understand that you don't have to end up with him."

That disgusted me more than anything else could. "How could he possibly think that I'd want anybody else? Nobody knows me better than he does."

She looked so relieved that I was scared she might faint. "That's what Sam and I keep telling him. It's good to know that we're right."

"Of course you're right. I couldn't ever be with anybody else anyway. I'd have to leave my family behind and still explain why I have to drink animal blood. Then I really risk being rejected. Jake has always understood me."

"He loves you."

I hugged myself. "I know. I just wish that I'd known. Things could have been so different by now between us."

I felt better knowing what was going on, but at the same time the hurt overrode it all. Jacob hadn't trusted my reaction enough to tell me. He'd let me think that he didn't feel the same and I made myself look like an idiot. All the number of moments that could have brought us closer together had made us feel awkward. I didn't appreciate being made a fool of.

"I know, sweetie. It's hard for the both of you for different reasons." Emily hugged me tight. "Everything will work out. Haven't you heard that it's always darkest just before the dawn?"

"Yeah," I said hugging her back.

"Well this is your dark time. Just let things happen."

I returned her smile, but as soon as she turned around, it vanished.

When I heard the truck pull up to the house a little while later, it was all I could do not to burst into tears.

**JPOV**

Something was definitely wrong. Something happened between the time I left and the time I came back because when I came back, Nessie was quiet and wouldn't meet my eyes. She looked close to tears the entire night.

Finally, I was able to pull Shelby away from Seth to ask, "Hey, what's up with Nessie?"

She looked really uncomfortable. "I'm not supposed to say. She asked me not to." And that's how it was with Emily, and surprisingly, Claire. Rachel had no idea what I was talking about, but I had a strange feeling that Emily did. She kept giving me strange looks.

I knew Ness couldn't still be upset about earlier. I'd agreed to talk to Sam, and I had. He thought her going was actually a good idea. And he'd already made some calls. He was just waiting for an answer.

Not once during dinner had she put her foot on top of mine, let alone rested her knee against mine. I was kind of surprised that she even sat next to me. She kept her eyes down on her plate or talked with other people, but not once did she look at me. Every time I'd ask her if she was ok, she'd give me a weak smile and say that she was trying to eat.

It was after nine in the evening, we'd helped clean up, and Emily had kicked us out. While we were walking off the porch, I caught Sam in the tree line on his phone. Emily and Nessie were saying good night when Sam looked at me and nodded.

He'd gotten his answer from our sister tribe from the north. They were going to allow Nessie up there. Nervous did not begin to describe how I felt.

We were on our way back to the Cullen house when it started to rain. At first it was just a drizzle, but after about a minute, it was a downpour. Usually, Nessie started to run. Instead, she just stopped walking and looked up at the sky.

I stepped up behind her. Her hair was drenched, and her clothes were sticking to her body, accentuating her curves. She had to have gotten those from Edward's side of the family.

I put my hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around. Her eyes were closed, and her head was still tilted back.

"Nessie, what's wrong?" I asked through a mouthful of water. I was drenched, and I'd be lucky if my phone still worked.

Finally, she opened her eyes, and arched an eyebrow. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong, Jake. I just have a lot to think about. Can't I have some time to think about what I need to say before I say it?"

I'd never heard that tone in her voice. It challenged me. And it made me flinch because her words echoed my thoughts on my conversation on imprinting.

"Fine," I countered, my tone hard. "I talked to Sam. They gave the all clear. You can come with me."

For a moment, she looked surprised, before the attitude replaced it once more. "You're not gonna argue with me?"

"Why should I? You'll go anyway. Did you really think Rachel wouldn't find that bag?"

Rachel had decided to clean out her old room today and found Nessie's overnight bag packed for two days and one night stuffed in the bottom of the closet. Clearly, Nessie decided that she'd try to follow me up there. The color drained out of her face.

"I put it in my duffel. Let's go tell your parents that you're spending the weekend with me." I took her hand, spun her around, and dragged her up through the reservation. She needed to get out of this rain before she got sick. I really didn't want to test how human she was.

She moved so that I was holding her hand instead of her wrist. When I looked back at her, there was a small, sad smile on her lips.

**RPOV**

Jacob dragged me all the way back up to my house. By the time we got there, it looked like we had jumped into a pool with our clothes on. The water looked good dripping down Jacob's bare, muscled arms.

Our welcome in the house, though, wasn't all as warm as we'd expected. The whole family had gathered in the kitchen. Dad was glaring at us, and Mom's lips were pursed, but she looked as if she were worried for our health.

"No. Absolutely not," Dad said as soon as we'd walked in.

"Edward-," Jacob started.

Dad pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare! I trusted you with my daughter, and now you want to take her to a place that broke a _peace_ treaty with you because of what we are, what she's half of. The answer is no. That's where I draw the line, Jacob."

Some of Jacob's pack had followed us back up here into Forks. I could see them through the kitchen windows and the backdoor. But even Sam was with them. Some of them shifted uneasily on their feet.

"Edward, they agreed to let her go up there. It's not like I'm ambushing them. Not to mention that I'm going to take extra back-up with me. It won't be just me to protect her."

"I don't care. It's not happening. You aren't taking her up there."

"Stop it!" I yelled, stepping between them. I placed a hand on both of their chests to separate them. Then I turned to my father. "Dad, I thought we agreed that we would let me make my own decisions now? That you guys would start treating me like I'm an adult. I understand the risks, but I can't handle those nightmares. You know that."

His eyes softened, but only a little, when they met mine. "I understand that it's hard for you to be away from him, but my little girl is not going into enemy territory without an army to protect her. I. Won't. Allow. It."

Jacob came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "Edward, you did agree that she is an adult now. This is an adult decision that she's made. I don't want her up there either, but I will do what it takes to keep her safe."

Dad pointed his finger at Jake again, his eyes hostile once more. "Just wait until the two of you have children, Jacob. Then you can talk to me about the safety of my child."

Jacob's whole body froze as everybody else shared glances and fidgeted with nonexistent loose threads on their clothes. I pulled away from Jake.

"What?" I whispered.

I could see the gears moving double time in Dad's head. He'd known that Jake hadn't told me about imprinting, and he'd told me that he'd known all along. Everybody else's fidgeting and glance-sharing told me that they knew, too.

"Nessie, I didn't mean to tell you who you were going to-," he stammered out, but I held up my hand.

"Save it, Dad." I turned on Jacob who was just standing there. His expression was changing from anger to fear to worry to confusion over and over. "How could you?" My voice was barely a whisper.

"Ness, I-."

"How could you lie to me like that?" I demanded, my voice getting stronger with every word. I made a gesture to everybody else in the room. "Everybody knew but me. Every single person here, and I bet on the rez, knows that you imprinted on me the day I was born. Everybody but _me_! How could you?"

"I didn't lie. I just-I didn't tell you."

I shoved him in the chest, tears filling my eyes. "That's the same as lying. To me, it's the same thing. And you know that!"

He was about to say something before another thought occurred to him. "Wait, who told you?" Seth started shooting warning looks, but he didn't have to worry. I wasn't giving up Shelby or Emily.

"It doesn't matter who told me. What matters is that it wasn't you." I shoved his hands away when he tried to reach for me. "You didn't trust me enough not to react terribly so you didn't tell me the most important part of _my_ life." I pointed to everyone in and outside the house. "All of you knew my story, every single private part of _my _story. Everyone did, except _me_! And none of you told me."

Just then, the front door burst open and Shelby was standing there, dripping wet. She took one look at my face, and guilt washed over her features as she hurried to me.

"I'm so sorry, Nessie."

"It's not your fault, Shelby." I glared at Jacob when I said that. "In fact, I'm glad that you mentioned it to me." I pointed a finger at Jacob when the anger took place of the fear and he opened his mouth to say something. "Don't you dare. You had so many opportunities to tell me, and you didn't. _She_ did the right thing even though she thought she was just gossiping."

The scared look was back on his face. "Nessie, please. I tried to tell you. I just didn't know how. I didn't want you to think that we'd been making sure that you ended up with me. I wanted you to choose me."

The tears were falling so hard now that he was just a blurry mess. Shelby had come to stand beside me to rub my back.

I had to take a few huge breaths before I could speak. "I did choose you, Jake. But that's not what this is about. All this time, we've been talking about making promises to each other, and not lying to each other. So-so you can lie to me but I can't lie to you, is that it?"

"Nessie, this is different. Those wolves could have killed you. I needed you to tell me about them so I could do something."

"No! That was not more important than this. Not to me. This was a secret about my own life! All these years, I questioned why you stayed here. Why you hung out with a freak like me." There were a couple gasps at that, but I plowed on. "I wondered why you didn't go out with girls, why you didn't have a wife or a family of your own. I kept thinking that maybe one day a woman was going to steal you away and that I'd never see you, so I'd just decided to live every day with you as if it were our last. But I didn't have to do that because you were so fucking tied to me!"

I ran up to him and started hitting his chest as hard as I could. I slapped him and hit him closed-fist as I cried and screamed, but all he did was take it as he wrapped his arms around me, holding to him.

"I'm sorry, Nessie. I'm so sorry."

I let him rock me for a few moments before I pushed away from him. "No, Jake. Just go. Please, just go."

He just stared at me with is mouth open. "What?"

"Leave!" I yelled.

"But-but I thought you were going to come with me?"

I shook my head. "No," I said, my voice hoarse now. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to be around someone who doesn't trust me." Shelby pulled me back away from him and into a one-armed hug. "Just go, Jake."

He stepped forward, his hands out in front of him. "But-,"

"Jake," Mom said from the corner of the room. "You two need some space to cool off. Why don't you head to the cabin?"

Jacob just stood in the middle of the room like he couldn't believe that this just happened. Truthfully neither could I, but that was one secret that he should have told me.

He came up to me stiffly. This was the first time in my whole nine years that I'd seen tears in his eyes. They were opened wide as he tried to keep the tears in, and he kept swallowing hard. I felt his lips on my forehead just before Shelby turned my face into her shoulder, and my tears fell harder.

I heard the door open, and before it closed, I heard him whisper, "I love you, Renesmee Cullen."

The door slammed and less than a minute later there was a howl that was so piercing it could only be described as heartbroken.

Everything went dark.

* * *

**Emotional, right? Ok, so this is the one chapter that I would LOVE for people to review. Please, if you have something negative to say, be nice about it. But I seriously love my fans. I wasn't expecting so many of you! xoxoxox**


	14. Chapter 13

**Hi! *waves*. Missed you guys last night. That's why you're getting two chapters tonight. This is the first. I'm still working on the other and beyond. But I have free time to do it, so I shall write as much as I can.**

**I had a reviewer ask me why Edward and Bella didn't speak up for Jake. Ironically enough, Seth addresses that in this chapter. But also (and I didn't write this in because I'm not doing POVs in Edward or Bella) they felt that Jacob and Nessie needed to go through that fight on their own. In my mind, during the argument, they became aware that their part in the secret-keeping could backfire on them. Like I said, there's a whole section of that. It may not answer your questions, and if it doesn't, then please feel free to message me or ask in a review.**

**Now, I must get back to writing your second chapter for the night.**

**Do I really need to say that I don't own Twilight?**

**Enjoy!**

**Shelby POV**

As soon as Nessie fainted, I was ready for it. I managed to keep her from hitting the floor while I held a hand out to the mass of people moving in to grab her.

"No. None of you come near her. She may not be wickedly pissed with you guys, but I certainly am."

"We could snap you in half, girl," Rosalie growled. Her hubby, Emmett, stepped forward to take her arm.

I grinned as Seth growled from outside. "I'd love for you to try, because then you'd have the whole pack after your ass. Speaking of which…Seth! Get in here."

A moment later, Seth came through the back door, keeping an eye on Rosalie. He wordlessly picked Nessie up like she was a child. I brushed the tears and hair from her face.

Carlisle, the doctor, stepped forward but I waved him back. "Nope. You either. You stay here."

"She needs to be looked at." He took a step forward, but I stepped in front of Seth.

I glared at him. "I can tell you what happened, doc. Her mind, body, and heart were under so much emotional pain that she just shut down. All that happened was that she passed out. And I know that I didn't let her head hit the ground. She's going to be fine. You can check in on her later."

He smiled a watered down smile. "Are you a psychology fan to know all that?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm a woman."

Backing up, I gently nudged Seth so he'd start walking. We backed out of the kitchen and all the way to the stairs. Once we got to her room, and Seth laid her on the bed, I told him to step out in the hall so that I could get her into some dry clothes. It was a bit of work, but eventually I got her into some soft, flannel, purple and green pajama pants, out of her bra and into one of Jake's t-shirts.

I wasn't stupid. She was still in love with him and was still probably going to have a nightmare. So I picked one of the biggest shirts there was in hopes that it was one that he still wore and had the freshest scent.

I called Seth back in to lift her up so that I could pull the covers down. Once she was back on the bed, I pulled them over her. She'd gotten goosebumps when I'd removed her wet clothes and the air had hit her skin.

"How she doin'?" he whispered.

I walked over to where he was standing in the corner, and shook my head. "This is a coping mechanism. She may not wake up for a while. That's a lot of pain to deal with." I sighed. "As angry as I am with him, I wonder how Jake's doing."

Seth shifted on his feet as he took a deep breath. "While you were changing her, I went out and phased just to check on him. He's not doing so hot."

"Seth, he should have told her."

He nodded, but frowned. "I agree, but, Shelbs, even if he'd been the one to tell her tonight, I think this would have still happened. With each day that he didn't tell her, he dug his own grave in this situation. I love Jake like a brother, but he should have told her the moment she was mature enough to understand something like this. Or, hell, maybe he should have told her when she was little just so she grew up with it. Like, introduce her to the word and tell her it was a wolf thing. As she got older, he could have added here and there when she'd asked."

"Yeah, but he didn't and look where we are."

He rubbed his hands over his face. "I know. I guess we're all at fault for not saying _something_."

"Seth, the wolves can't blame themselves. From what I've gathered, he's the head alpha male. If he tells you something, even if it's not an order, you're going to be inclined to follow it. But the Cullens? They should have said something, anything."

He smoothed his hands down my arms. "Well, it doesn't matter now. What's happened has happened so now, I guess we just pick up the pieces."

We stopped talking and watched her as she cuddled herself lower into the blankets and sighed. Then a knock came at the door. Of course, Seth wanted to be the one to answer it. Sure enough, Rosalie and Emmett came through the door. To my surprise Rosalie's eyes were downcast.

I was even more surprised when she came over to me. Seth shadowed her, just in case.

"I'm sorry I threatened you," she whispered. "I wouldn't really hurt you. You're her best friend and are a part of the family. I'm just worried about her."

I touched her arm. "I know. If our positions had been switched, I'd have said the same thing. But you've got to understand that I haven't known long enough for it to have made a difference, but you and the family have. Seeing her like this is not my idea of fun."

"Ours either," Emmett whispered, his hands on his wife's shoulders. "We feel terrible about how this went."

"Yeah, well, this was the only way it could go, in my opinion."

Rosalie sighed. "Since you're her guard now, may we kiss her goodnight?"

I wasn't fond of the idea of them near her right now, but they were her family and I couldn't exactly keep them away from her unless she asked. So I nodded.

They headed for the bed and gently kissed her forehead, said good night, and left me and Seth to sit with her.

In her sleep, Nessie reached for the empty side of the bed, frowned, and whispered, "Jacob," in a worried voice.

**JPOV**

All I could feel was numb as I ran through the rain with the duffel on my back. Seth had checked in but I wasn't in the mood to talk. He'd heard and seen my thoughts and was smart enough not to comment. He just phased back out to leave me to myself. And apparently he'd called off patrols for a while because nobody else was with me as I ran. It was just me.

And I feared that it would from now on be just me.

_Come on, Jake. Don't think like that._

I sighed. _I'm not in the mood, Leah._

_I know. I just wanted to let you know that we're gonna take care of her. You take care of you. _

_Thanks._

She'd already phased back. Once there were other females in the pack, she'd calmed down. Not as defensive. It was kind of nice. But Leah's moods weren't my immediate issues.

The cabin Bella had been talking about was built by the Cullens on land that the Cullens had bought. There was a lake on it that the cabin oversaw. The Cullens had purchased it for the wolves to use when one or a couple needed a break, a mini vacation. Right now, I'd be the only one using it.

Thunder rumbled through the night, echoing through my bones. It rattled through me, letting me know that I was hollow.

Nessie had been right to yell at me. I hadn't realized her point until she'd made it. It had been as much a part of her life as it was mine. I'd thought that the imprint was my problem, my thing to work with. But she'd been the imprintee. It was also over her head. And in keeping it from her, I'd taken her choices rather than making sure she knew that she had any at all.

_Idiot, Jake, _I screamed at myself. _You're such an idiot._

After about an hour, I made it to the cabin. The automatic light came on when it sensed my movements in the trees. As soon as that back door had slammed, I'd phased and took off in this direction, shredding my clothes. Before I phased back, I shimmied the duffel off my neck. I picked it back up in human form and went into the dark cabin.

When I turned on the lights in the hallway, I came face to face with my own reflection, and it made me flinch. Nessie had done a hell of a job on me. Bruises had started to form in patches as big as her small fists. There were also a few scratches that ran from the side of my neck and down my chest where they became welts when her nails hit the tank I'd been wearing.

Touching one of the scratches on my neck, I flinched at the sting. I'd deserved every one of these marks. And I'd wear them with the guilt.

Turning away from the mirror that held the reflection that I could no longer stand to look at, I studied the cabin that was going to be my home for however long it took for her to forgive me.

There were two sets of stairs. One that led up, and one that led down. The master suite was downstairs because the stairs could be closed down and locked from the inside. The loft was open and airy. I went for the downstairs. Needing a shower desperately and not having any clothes to take off, I threw the duffel on the bed and walked into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, I was lying on the bed, on top of the covers after I'd dried off, and just stared at the ceiling. Except, I wasn't actually looking at the ceiling. I was staring back into that kitchen, at Nessie's tear-stained face, the anguish in her eyes at my betrayal.

Because it was a betrayal. She'd been right. I hadn't trusted her with the reaction. I'd expected her to say "see ya around, Jake" and actually never see her again. But that was so stupid. It was as if I hadn't paid attention to the woman she'd become after all these years. I was expecting her to be like Bella and choose someone else over me.

I was the dumbest person on this planet. Trust should have been the first thing between us since I'd helped raise her. Every day of her life had me somewhere in it, even if it was just a phone call.

Sighing, I sat up. Being alone in the cabin, I didn't really have to put on clothes, but I didn't want to feel that vulnerable, especially after having my ass handed to me by the girl I love. But when I opened the bag to find her bag inside, I wanted to scream. I'd forgotten it was in there. With shaky hands, I unzipped the bag to find one of her favorite sweaters folded on top. Her scent hit me like a ton of bricks, but it comforted me as much as it hurt.

Since it would feel like disrespecting her to take only her shirt between the sheets with me, I grabbed a pair of cut off sweats and pulled them on. Once I crawled into bed, I dimmed the lights with the control on the bedside table, tucked her shirt to my chest, and breathed deep.

It took a while, but eventually, sleep took me wrapped in her scent.

**RPOV**

The day after I'd sent Jacob away was very uneventful seeing as how I'd slept through most of it. The sleep hadn't been restful at all what with the look of intense loss on Jacob's face haunting my dreams. And I woke up to Shelby rather than him. I'd wanted it to be him.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she whispered with a sad smile.

I didn't even try to smile. "Hi," I barely choked out before I burst into tears.

She hugged me to her as I cried myself back to sleep.

I don't know how much later it was when I woke up, but it was dark outside. Shelby was still there, watching me.

"Wanna try that again?" she asked, smiling. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

My lips lifted a minute amount. "Sorry. Hey."

"How are you feeling?" Her hands rubbed small circles on my back.

"How do I look?"

"Like crap." Trust her to be honest.

I laughed a little. "Then, it's good to know I look as bad as I feel." I wrapped my arm around her waist in an effort to hug her back. "Thanks for staying with me."

Her smile was gentle. "Of course. You would have done it for me."

I nodded. But a memory hit me and suddenly I was angry. A thought had occurred to me last night as I was raging at Jacob. And I wanted it answered. "Is my mom around?"

Her laugh was full of real humor. "Ness, they've all been waiting out in the hall since I had Seth close the door on them."

I leaned up a little to see the werewolf sitting in the corner with one of my old school books open in his lap. He looked up to give me a small wave and a big grin. "Hey, Ness. It's good to see you awake."

I nodded, but couldn't smile back. I loved Seth and always was happy to see him, but he reminded me so much of Jake that it hurt. I lay back down on my back and took some deep even breaths.

He must have heard them because he said softly, "I can leave if you want."

I shook my head against the pillow. "No, but I do want my mother in here."

Not one second later, the door opened to reveal her standing there. "Hi, sweethe-," she managed to get out before I interrupted.

"What happened?"

She blinked at my demand. "I'm sorry?"

I sat up and faced her. "What did you do to him to make him not trust me? It had to have been leftover trust issues with you, whatever happened before I came along. What the hell happened?"

Dad appeared behind her. "I happened."

"What do you mean?"

He looked at Seth and Shelby pointedly. "I think this should be a private conversation."

"Absolutely not," I said, echoing him from last night. "No more secrets around here. Spill it."

They both sighed but didn't look happy. Oh well. "A long time ago, when your mother was still human, I left her thinking that I was protecting her. Instead, it ripped her apart. Jacob was the one to fill that void. He helped heal her to a certain extent."

"I needed him, Nessie."

"You loved him." I said it as a fact, not a question.

She nodded. "I did."

"But not as much as you loved dad." When she shook her head, I said, "Did Jake know that?"

"I told him," she whispered.

Dad placed his hands on her shoulders. "He was angry with me for coming back. He swore that he could have made her happy had I stayed away for six more months. And when your mother got pregnant with you, he wanted-,"

"Edward," Mom's voice was sharp.

I looked between them. "What? What did Jake want?"

He looked at Mom sadly. "He wanted, as I did, to abort you so that she could live."

Mom answered to that quickly. "And when I said no to both of them, he still stayed. At first, he thought it was just because he was still drawn to me even though I had married another man and was pregnant with his child. But after you were born and he'd imprinted, we figured out that he'd been drawn to you. Even before you were born, he was yours."

I let that warm my heart for all of a second before I was back to glaring at her. "So you used Jacob. You kept him close because you didn't want to feel that void where Dad had been. You made him think that he could win you over. And when you went back to Dad like nothing had happened, you stabbed him in the back, right over the heart."

"It wasn't like that, Nessie." Mom's eyes pleaded with me to understand.

"Actually," came a voice from the corner. I turned eyes to Seth. He met mine with a force that I'd never seen in him. "Jake was torn up. When he got your parents' wedding invitation, he'd been so angry and hurt that he'd phased and run all the way through Canada before he could calm down enough to come back."

Mom and Dad glared at him. I'd never seen Dad angry with Seth. They'd always been good friends. "It wasn't like that."

"The hell it wasn't," he countered, getting to his feet. "You," he said pointing to Mom. "You played him a good one. You never once told him that it wasn't going to happen. You kept going back to him, making him believe that you needed him so much that he had a chance to be the man in your life. And now, because he's imprinted with Nessie, _your_ daughter, he's messed up with the trust stuff. Sure, he didn't think he was. He thought he knew how all this was going to work, but when the time came he freaked that she'd reject him."

"I'd never do that," I felt the need to say.

Seth nodded. "I know, and I think he knows that. But with Edward poking his nose where it didn't belong in your and Jake's heads, he scrambled things. Jake was going to tell you about imprinting when he knew that you'd chosen him."

Dad said, "But I'd told him that she had."

"Exactly. He needed to see it for himself. And I bet you talked to Nessie about mysterious things and weren't up front with her about it. Your push caused problems." Dad began to argue, but Seth kept going. "Oh, and a good question is what the hell was that last night?"

I had intended this conversation to be led by me, but Seth was well and truly pissed off. No matter how much he and Dad got along, Jake was his priority because Jake was his alpha male. Jacob's well-being was the pack's well-being. So I just sat with Shelby against the pillows as they duked it out. Shelby was smiling at Seth in that way that a girlfriend does when her boyfriend does something hot and she plans to reward him later.

"What was what?" Dad demanded right back.

"Read my mind, Edward. It's what you're good at, but for all of those impaired of that gift, why the hell did you let Nessie do that to him last night without putting some of the blame on yourself? You were the one who kept telling him to tell her, but then turning around and telling him to get his stuff together first. And then, to top it all off, Nessie was trying to figure out her own feelings while trying to figure out if Jacob had also changed because _you_ put thoughts in her head."

When Dad didn't say anything, but looked surprised, Seth shook his head. "What? Do you really think I don't pay attention? Jake is my Alpha, and with any luck in the universe, Ness will be his mate." He glanced at me apologetically. "It's my job to pay attention so that I can keep up and step up when I have to. I didn't get to second in command because of my humor."

I watched my father very carefully. The slump in his shoulders was slight, but I knew that meant that he felt defeated.

"I hadn't meant for it to happen like this. I just wanted to give them a push."

"Dad," I whispered. When he looked at me, I continued. "You should actually learn to play chess. Maybe then you would have thought of all the possibilities of the outcomes." I turned to Seth. "May I borrow your phone?"

He rummaged in his pocket for it and threw it to me. I made sure to check the time before I called anyone. It was only seven in the evening. Hopefully, they'd still be up. I scrolled through his address book and found the name I was looking for.

He picked up on the second ring. "Seth? How's Nessie?"

"Um, she's fine."

There was a pause. "Nessie. Are you ok?" Before I could answer, he rambled on. "Of course you're not. I'm sorry. What can I do?"

I smiled at the concern in his voice. "I was actually wondering if I could come down there and stay with you and Emily for a few days." I ignored the sad looks coming from Mom and Dad, especially Dad. I loved him and always would, but he should have left us alone. "Of course, if you say no, it's ok. I know that you and Emily would like some time to celebrate the baby."

His answer was immediate. "Don't be ridiculous. The baby is months away, and you need us now. Not to mention that Emily is really worried about you. She wanted to go up there today, but Seth told us you were sleeping."

"Yeah, apparently I'd had a shock to the system."

"No kidding."

I chewed on my lip, wanting to ask him the obvious question, but fearing I already knew the answer. My mouth asked anyway without my permission. "Have you heard from him?" I whispered.

He sighed. "No. He doesn't want to talk to anyone except you right now."

"I know. I just need a little time to think without him here to distract me."

I heard Emily in the background ask him a question. "Emily wants to know when you're going to get your skinny butt down here."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Let me pack a bag and I'll get Seth to walk me down."

"Ok. We'll see you soon. Em's getting an extra room ready."

"Thanks, Sam."

"Anytime. Hurry down."

"Will do." I hung up and handed Seth his phone back. "Would you mind-,"

"Of course not."

That was when Shelby jumped off the bed to shoo everyone out including herself to give me some time to myself. My normal sleepover bag was with Jake so I grabbed my messenger bag and threw some random clothes in it, and then dressed in some sweats and one of my own black sweaters. My phone and charger were next, and I tried so hard not to look at my walls. One of them was dedicated to just me and Jake, but one picture kept grabbing my attention. My favorite one of us. Without looking directly at it, I peeled it off the wall, folded it and put it in my pocket. And then I broke down by shoving some of Jacob's clothes into my bag. They were the clothes he wore now, so they held more of his scent. I also grabbed the pillow he normally used.

Ten minutes later, Shelby had my bag slung over her shoulder while I hugged Jake's pillow to me as the three of us trudged down to the rez. None of us spoke. I'd hugged my family before I left, because even though I was angry with them, I still loved them and they needed reaffirmation of that. Going to Sam's house was my way of distancing. The pack could have only told me so much what with Jake being so picky about what was said. I wasn't as angry with them as I was my family. I just needed out of that house.

We made it to Sam's house and Emily immediately pulled me into her arms. "I'm so sorry, Nessie. If I would have known-,"

I shook my head as I held on. "No. It's not your fault. It happened and now we're going with the flow. The time apart will help us think."

"I hope so."

Seth and Shelby left me in the care of Sam and Emily but both gave me hugs before they left, hoping that I'd get some rest. Sam hugged me too, before Emily showed me to the room I'd be staying in. One last hug from her and then I was alone.

I was alone. Jacob was alone. Everything was so wrong in the world at the moment. Before I crawled into bed, I placed Jake's pillow next to the one I would sleep on and grabbed one of his shirts.

Holding it to my nose and breathing deeply, I fell asleep surrounded by memories of him.

* * *

**I have to say that I loved how Seth stepped up to Edward. Good friends listen to each other and those two became friends after Eclipse. And Seth is an outsider to the situation. I know this wasn't the greatest chapter ever, but I've had the reunion scene stuck in my head since I finally got the dramatic one out of my head. So please, just bear with me. xoxoxox**


	15. Chapter 14

**As promised, your second chapter of the night: chapter 14. Now, some people may ask why depression didn't kick in and they moped for days on end. Well, they're soul mates. They need each other to make it through the days so they'll try to clean up their acts fast.**

**And for those of you who have asked for more of the "other" wolves, you may enjoy this chapter.**

**As usual, I own nothing.**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

**_Two days later_**

**RPOV**

Two very long days have passed since the explosion between me and Jacob, and my nerves were still frayed. I'd checked in with both packs and my family. Jake hadn't called anybody. Nobody had heard from him, but Dad had gone to the cabin to check on him for me. Apparently, Jacob had holed himself up inside and didn't want anyone to talk to him. Dad said that he'd been on the phone, though. It had sounded like he was in the middle of negotiations. So, he'd gone back to work. Dad had made sure to tell me that Jake was still very upset but was trying to keep busy.

Speaking of Dad, he'd been doing everything he could to make up for the part he'd played by keeping me updated on Jake. I'd already forgiven him, of course. But it was good that he realized that Seth had been right.

I wasn't at the top of my game either. Jacob was keeping busy, trying to get the negotiations completed over the phone. But I had nothing to keep me busy like that. I'd read a couple chapters of a book, learned some new recipes from Emily, and had drawn with Claire, but I always ended up back in my room. On the bed. Staring at the picture that I'd brought with me.

Right now, I was sitting on the porch staring at the picture. It had been nice and crisp when I'd first brought it, but now it was worry-worn from me stroking it and crying all over it.

Today wasn't a good day for me. Sam and Emily were cuddled up on the couch, their hands resting over their unborn child. For some reason, it made me think of Jacob. I looked around to watch them, and tears sprang to my eyes.

Sam seemed to sense it because he looked over at me. "Ness? You ok?"

Not being able to handle their couple-ness, I shook my head, stood up, and ran for the woods. He called after me, but I just couldn't go back and watch them be so happy. It hurt too much.

So I ran. I ran until I couldn't breathe anymore. I ran until the tears choked me. I ran so hard and fast that the year-round green trees whipped at my arms and face, snagged my hair and clothes.

Eventually, my foot caught on a root, and I went down hard. There was no getting up. I struggled to tug air into my lungs as the tears washed over me. There was a tree that had giant roots that made a convenient little nook that I scooted myself into. Hugging my knees to my chest, I gripped that picture in my fist and cried.

"You never struck me as a girl that cried." The only thing on me that didn't freeze was the tears still rolling down my cheeks. The voice that had spoken had an English accent and it was male, very male.

Looking up, I found a guy around eighteen standing in front of me. What scared me was that I had been so distracted that I hadn't heard, seen, or smelled him getting _that _close to me. He was wearing some tattered jeans that hung low on his waist and a black long-sleeved t-shirt.

"Who are you?" I asked, wiping my face free of the tears with my sleeve. Now that my face wasn't pressed to my knees, I could smell that stench from the clearing taking up space in the nook with me. My head started to pound.

He bent down to pick something off the ground before answering me. "What? Don't recognize me?"

He knew me? Studying him showed me that he had dirty blond hair, tan skin, and the strangest of all: amber eyes. The color was similar to that of my family's eyes after they'd hunted, but not exactly the same shade. And that similarity told me that he was something other than human. But what caught and held my attention was the healing scar that started along the side of his nose and swept over to end just under the corner of his eye.

It looked familiar, but I knew that I'd never seen him before. But I had seen the marking before. In the woods.

I gasped, a hand going to my throat. He smiled. "You're the white wolf."

While I stared at him, he unfolded whatever he'd found and studied it. This boy right here had been the one to save my life. He was standing there. Wait-he was standing here, in the woods.

I jumped up. "What are you doing here?"

He frowned at what he was looking at. "I am standing here, staring at this lovely picture of two people." He raised his eyes to mine. "Is that a crime?"

It was then that I realized that I was no longer holding the picture of me and Jacob. And that it was now in the hands of this stranger. I lunged forward and snatched it from him. "Give me that." He raised his hands in mock surrender. "And yes, you being here is a crime. All the wolves around here are looking for signs of you and your pack."

He snorted. "My pack? They aren't mine. They belong to Tristan." He shrugged. "Anyway, you're very attractive together," he said, motioning to the photo.

"What?" The compliment had caught me off guard so I was just standing there blinking.

Those amber eyes wondered just how dense I was. "The two of you. You look good together. An attractive couple."

I stared down at the picture and realized that he was right. Jacob's dark skin brought out the blush in my cheeks and the bronze in my hair. We looked like a very happy couple in this picture. That might be why I loved it to begin with.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"What's your name?" I asked. It was awkward trying to have a conversation with someone without knowing their name.

"Ladies first," he said, eyes squinted.

I wasn't sure whether to give him the long version or my nickname. In the end, I picked the nickname because Jacob had given it to me. And no matter what happened between us, we belonged to each other. Ownership was not a word I used often, but in a way we owned each other. I was Jacob's, and he was mine.

I raised my chin. "Nessie."

He gave me a look. "Nessie? Like, the Loch Ness?"

"No. Nessie as in short for Renesmee. But I go by Nessie to the people that matter."

At my full name his eyebrows shot up, but he said, "You mean to him." He pointed at the picture in my hand. "You gave me the nickname because it means more to you, just like he does."

"I answered you first. Now, what's your name?"

A small smile played over his lips before he turned and sat down in the leaves. I stepped a little away from him and sat down, too, facing him while he faced the trees.

"I'm Caden. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

He didn't look at me when he spoke. He was staring out into the woods, studying them. I watched him. The muscles in his jaw were moving under his skin. When we'd been standing, he'd been tall. Not as tall as Jacob, but as tall as a high school athletic boy was. I tried to see him as human since he'd been one once upon a time.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, still not looking at me.

I countered with a question of my own since I didn't know the answer to his. "Why did you save me?"

His jaw clenched as he glanced at me. "Because you don't deserve to die. You deserve to be happy." He jerked his chin at the photo. "With him. He's your male, isn't he?"

I traced my finger over Jacob's face in the picture. I knew there was a pleased smile on my face when I whispered, "Yeah."

I could see Caden nod out in my peripheral. "I thought so. The way he looked at you. The way he always protected you. Where is he? I'm surprised he let you out here alone. He's the alpha male. Alpha males rarely let their mates out of their sight when danger's around."

The way he said it as a fact had me looking at him. "How'd you know that?"

He snorted again. "You're joking, right?" When he looked at my face, he shook his head. "They all respect him. All the others move out of his way when he comes through. They all listen intently when he speaks, especially when he gets that authoritative tone."

That he had seen all that made me nervous and defensive all at the same time. "How long have you been watching us?"

"Long enough. Now, would you like to talk about it?"

I was pretty sure that he'd changed the subject, but I asked anyway. "Talk about what?"

"Why your male isn't here with you."

That was the one subject I didn't want to talk about. I couldn't meet his eyes so I lowered them.

"He's why you were crying, isn't he?"

That brought my eyes back up to him. "If you know the answer, why ask the question?"

Caden shrugged. "Sometimes I'm wrong, so I like to ask. But I'm not wrong this time. You're gripping that picture like it's the last thing of him you'll ever see." His voice softened. "Tell me what happened. Maybe an outsider can help."

"Why do you wanna help me so much?"

His eyes became sad. "Maybe I feel guilty about your friend that my kind killed. He didn't deserve it either."

"I knew it. It wasn't a coincidence, was it?"

He shook his head. But he didn't look like he was going to say anything.

"You're not going tell me what's going on, are you?"

"I don't know what's going on. I might be second in command, but they don't trust me. Not after what I did in that clearing." He turned to face me. "Now, please, tell me what happened. Like I previously said, I didn't think you were one to cry like that."

I picked up a dried leaf and demolished it between my fingers. "I still don't see why you want to know about all that."

He sighed. "Look, someone deserves to be happy. And for all my being able to notice things, maybe I can help." He gently waved his hand in front of my eyes so I'd lift them back up to him. That rank scent floated up to my nose. "Besides, I saved your life. You owe me."

"By telling you my personal problems?"

His grin was bright in his tan skin. "Of course. Without me, you wouldn't be having those personal problems."

I grinned and sighed. "Touché."

And so, I told him everything, right down to the moment I ran off Sam's porch to come here. Caden was a good listener. No gasps or nuh-uhs. He just watched me talk, nodding every once in a while. When I was done, I felt so much better that I felt almost empty.

For a while we were quiet. Caden was contemplating the leaves at his feet and I was tracing Jacob's face in the picture.

Finally, "I think you were too hard on him."

"What?"

He gestured to my hand. "Your male. I mean, Jacob. You were too hard on him."

That made me fidget because I'd been thinking the same thing. But I didn't want to say anything so that they could use it against me. "How do you figure?"

"Well, I mean, think about it." He scooted in the leaves until we were face to face. "He was caught in a really awkward situation all the way around. Honestly it was a bit hard to follow. But he'd been in love with your mother before you were born. And then he- what did you call it?- imprinted on you."

"Ok, but Jacob knew that not telling me is the same as lying. That's how I see that. And finding out what had happened just pulled my life together. If he'd told me, we'd be together right now."

"Would you?" He shook his head. "I don't know. He wanted you to choose him before he told you. That's what you said, right?"

I nodded.

"More than likely, the bloke was waiting to see the changes in you himself, rather than your mind-reading father to tell him." He shook his head again. He seemed to do that a lot. "Talk about trust issues. Your dad could screw someone up seven ways from Sunday before they figured they were being joked 'round with."

"So what should I do?"

"In my opinion?"

I nodded.

"Talk to him. Kiss him. Tell him you love him." He looked over at the trees again, but that sad look was back. "Life's too short to spend away from your soul mate. So you got mad, you yelled at him, you told him how you felt about all this. Good for you. Now, sit here and think about it."

"I was."

"No, you weren't. You were crying. That means that you were only feeling. You need to think about it now. What do you want? Do you love him? Do you forgive him? How do you feel sitting here without him, knowing that he's probably out there somewhere, alone, beating the crap out of himself because he hurt the woman he loves? Truth be told, he's not at fault for it. Despite what we turn into, at our core, we're all human. Therefore, mistakes are inevitable."

There was no way that this guy was my age. But I thought about everything he'd just said. He was right.

"How'd you get so smart at such a young age?" I asked softly.

Caden breathed deep as a gust of wind brought the leaves at our feet up around our heads. "Life hasn't been kind to me. I've had to learn the hard way." He looked at me with haunted eyes. "Not all of us have lives as good as yours. And you're wasting it."

The breeze had brought his scent to me again, making my head pound. I rubbed my temples while I thought about everything we'd talked about. On one hand, I felt weird because I'd told him about my family and me. I worried about what he might do with that information, but at the same time, if he'd wanted to kill me, I'd be dead a thousand times over by now.

"It's the disease." His voice was soft but it made me jump.

"What?"

"You started rubbing your head when the wind blew my scent over to you. That stench is the disease running through my blood."

I must have looked as confused as I felt because he laughed.

"My kind of werewolf is different than the kind you know. My type of shifting is commonly known as lycanthropy. It's a disease. If a werewolf of my kind scratches a human?" He shook his head. "They don't stay that way for long. By the next full moon, they're hunting on all fours."

Suddenly, he was on his feet in alert mode.

I made my way to my own two feet, which had fallen asleep. "What's wrong?"

"Your wolves. They're coming to look for you." He turned to me with a hand held out. "It's been a pleasure to meet you, Nessie. I should hope that should we meet again, you will have thought about what I said and changed your predicament."

I smiled and put my hand in his. "Fancy words to tell me to get my ass back in shape."

He grinned. "Your ass is fine. It's your head I'm worried about." He leaned in to kiss my cheek. "Don't leave the poor fellow alone for too long. A woman as wonderful as you could make a man go crazy."

I wanted to say thank you, but he was gone just as quickly as he'd come. One moment I was standing there with my hand in his. The next I'm standing with my hand in midair and my face pushed out for a kiss on the cheek, meeting nothing but air.

Two seconds later, Leah came bursting through the leaves.

**JPOV**

Throwing the phone on the coffee table, I sat back into the couch with a sigh. Edward had called to tell me that Nessie was ok. She'd gone down to stay with Sam and Emily having found her family guiltier than my wolves. She'd guessed that the wolves had had less choice to say anything because of me. They'd known better than to disobey me even though all I would have done was yell at them. I couldn't really punish my people. They didn't deserve to have their free will taken. So that had left them in a hard place. Some had wanted to say something, but they didn't want to risk my temper.

The marks she'd put on me had yet to heal, and honestly, I'd miss them when they did. Her coming after me like that told me how much she loved me. She'd been so hurt and angry that she had felt the need to make me feel her pain, too.

When I woke up the past two mornings, I'd slipped whatever piece of clothing I'd had of hers back in her bag so that it would grab a little more of her scent.

I'd tried to stay busy. The reps from the Makah reservation had called, asking if Ness and I were going up there. They'd sounded a bit too disappointed when I said no and that I was now more inclined to just negotiate over the phone or not at all. I was getting tired of this mess. And frankly, I was more concerned with Nessie and our relationship at the moment.

Staying on the couch by myself was not my idea of fun, so I got up to pace in front of the giant picture window. I barely made it two steps before I noticed a figure standing at the edge of the woods, staring in this direction.

I paused on the way out the door just long enough to pull on a shirt. The breeze coming off the lake was chilly, which was strange. I hadn't been cold in years, but since Nessie had turned me out, I hadn't been able to really warm up, or feel anything. I'd even covered the mirrors and tried not to look at the windows.

Edward was standing just inside the tree line watching me.

"What are you doing here, Edward? Is she ok?"

He held up his hands in a "calm down" gesture. "She's fine, Jacob. I just needed to come up here to say something to you that I should have said two days ago." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Seth blames me for all this."

"What?" That had not been what I was expecting, but it sure as hell surprised me. Seth rarely pointed fingers. He normally kept his thoughts to himself.

Edward nodded. "According to him, I should have let you decide when everything was falling into place instead of trying to get a ball rolling that I had no right to touch in the first place."

The shame on his face made me understand why he was here. "Edward-,"

"I'm sorry, Jacob," he said, cutting me off. He couldn't meet my eyes. "I've never messed something up this bad."

I felt bad for him so I smiled and pretended to punch his arm. "Except for when you left Bells."

That got me a small smile. "Well, yes. But Bella and I are fine now. Our daughter is our priority, and I helped to hurt her. That is unforgivable."

I put a hand on his shoulder and shook him, making him look at me. "Edward, I should have told her a long time ago. I shouldn't have let the fact that Bella chose you over me decide how I would treat Nessie. I treated her as if she were going to leave me. If I didn't tell her and she left, then she would be guilt free. But if she decided to be with me and I could see the change in her, then I'd say something. But you thought you were helping. We all screwed up."

"I'm still so sorry, Jacob. It wasn't just her that I hurt. I also hurt you."

I snorted. "Edward-,"

"No, Jacob." His voice was sharp and got my attention. "I'm serious. This isn't a joke." He ran a hand through his hair, which told me just how agitated he was since vampires don't fidget. "This situation is so outrageously strange, but I _do_ consider you a son. You've always taken amazing care of my daughter, and she's in love with you. If you weren't good to her, she wouldn't want you in her life. But here you are. You're family. I should have thought better about what I was doing, but I didn't. And I am so sorry."

I couldn't help but stare at him. He'd never looked so close to tears since I'd known him. Well, if he were able to cry. That made me ask what the hell Seth had said to him to make him this upset with himself.

Edward shook his head and looked out over the lake. "He made me realize that just because I can read minds, that doesn't mean that I can move chess pieces that aren't mine to move."

Chess? What the hell did chess have to do with any of this?

"Are those her handiwork?"

He gestured toward me but I'd been zoning out in my own thoughts to realize what. "Huh?"

"The marks."

I looked down at my chest and brought a hand to my neck. "Oh, yeah." I chuckled. "Those training sessions were a success."

He smirked. "Clearly. Does Carlisle need to look at them?"

I shook my head which pulled at the scab on my neck. "Nah. I think I'll keep them as a source of pride and guilt."

"Jacob-,"

"No, Edward," I said, echoing him. "There's a lot of blame to go around and most of it's mine." He started to protest and I lifted a hand to stop it. "I don't care what you say. No matter what anybody else told me, I should have followed my instinct. But I didn't. I wasn't the man that I needed to be. I'd become the infatuated school boy again and that's not what Nessie needs. She's a mature woman who had every right to yell at me. I'm the man now, and I'm taking the responsibility."

After a moment, he smirked again and nodded.

Together we turned to stare at the lake and stood in perfect understanding.

**RPOV**

Day number three of Jake being gone was at the same time easy and still difficult. Being away from him for this long was making me uncomfortable. But it was easier after the talk I'd had with Caden. The kid had been right. I loved Jake. Jacob loved me. And I'd started to think of this whole escapade being our coming out party. We should be together right now. We _needed_ to be together.

But I just couldn't come to the decision to go find him. The shame burned me.

And that's why I was more than happy to have a girls' day with Shelby when she'd called to ask if I wanted to go with her to Port Angeles for the day.

When I'd gotten in the car, we'd said our hellos and made small talk before falling silent. I watched the trees as she drove wishing that Jake was taking it easy on himself. Sam had said that he'd sounded better, less like a kicked puppy and more like a man that has accepted his fate. Whatever that meant. Kind of made me nervous.

"Ness?" Shelby's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"How ya feelin', chickadee?"

I took a deep breath. There was no way I could tell her about Caden. She'd go straight to Seth and the woods would be swarming with wolves.

"Better. I've been able to do a lot of thinking."

"Oh, yeah?"

I nodded. "Mhm. I think maybe I went too hard on Jake. He didn't deserve all that."

She squinted at the road and pursed her lips. "So what do you think your reaction was all about?"

I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. That night was a terrible nightmare for me. I hated to think of myself acting like that. "It was instinct."

"Then why do you think it was a mistake? Or too hard on him?"

She had a tendency to interrogate me to get to the bottom of my feelings. Why pay money for a therapist when I had her?

"It wasn't instinct to blame him. It was more to protect my life. I guess I felt threatened because everybody had known all along what had happened except me, and that scared me. It made me question what else about me I don't know."

A smile played with her lips and her eyes got that "now we're getting somewhere" look.

"So you took your anger out on Jacob because he could take it. He's the man in your life and he has to take damage to protect you. He took the metaphorical bullet that your fear pulled the trigger on."

My teeth found my lip. "I guess. I mean, if I'd gone after anybody else, they'd be beyond hurt. But he just took it."

"Exactly."

Not that that explained anything. I was still trying to figure out that whole conversation when we pulled into the mall. Shelby knew where she wanted to go so I followed her all the way to the store before I recognized it. My eyebrows rose at all the pink and lace.

"Um, why are we here?"

She actually blushed. "Uh, well, Seth and I have been talking and, um, well-,"

I held up my hand. "Nevermind. I get the picture." I grinned and nudged her with my shoulder. "So you want me to help you shop for lingerie?"

Her blush got deeper. "Please? Ness, this is my first time. I don't know what would look good, or what guys like."

"Shelbs, as far as what would look good, it's going to come off anyway." That made her blush even more if that were possible. "And you're not trying to impress _guys_. This is Seth. He'd love you in, or out, of anything. But I _do_ know that his favorite color is green."

And so, went in search of barely-there green.

After about an hour, we'd found quite a few things. She had laid them all out in the dressing room staring at the sets like her life depended on which one she picked. Finally, I picked them all up and headed for the counter, ignoring her protests after she'd figured out what I was going to do.

I hadn't made it ten steps out of the dressing room door before she yipped my name. "Ness!"

"Don't argue with me. I'm going to-,"

She grabbed my arm. "No, no, no. I'm not talking about that. I'll let you pay for everything the rest of my life if you buy this." She took a very lacy, see-through red bra and panty set off the rack and held it up to me. I had just walked past it so she'd seen it held over my body as I'd gone for the counter.

I pushed it down so that it wasn't hovering over me. "What? Why?"

"Are you joking? Why else would I tell you to get it?"

"But I don't need it."

"You will." She smiled and a seriously suggestive look came across her face. "Eventually, when things progress with you and Jacob, you will seriously need this."

"Shelby!"

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ness! He'd totally love it."

That stopped the argument on my tongue. Instead, I actually looked at it and said, "Really?"

That smile came back. "Yeah. Duh. Jake loves red on you, and this is perfect."

"He does?"

She was studying the set so she was distracted as she said, "Yeah, you know that red sweater that you have that shows a bit of cleavage with the right bra?"

I nodded.

"Well, his eyes never leave you when you're wearing it."

Ten minutes later, I had a small pink striped bag and blush of my very own. Jacob was on my mind the entire time. Things would work out. They had to.

I had new underwear to wear for him. I _needed_ to see his eyes on me again. I knew he watched me. His eyes held a heat as they followed me across rooms. I needed to feel that heat again. But I also needed to see him. I missed his skin, his smile, his heartbeat. I was going to get all of that back.

I wasn't a little girl anymore. I was a woman who needed the man she loved. And I had pitched a tantrum. There were other ways that I could have dealt with the situation. It didn't have to end like it had.

I was going to get Jacob back. And that red set was going to stay in the closet until he knew how sorry I was, how much I needed him, but also, how much I _wanted _him. Some people assumed that need was more important than want, but that wasn't true. You could need someone in your life but not want them there, and then both parties would be miserable. That want made the other person want to be there.

I needed Jacob to want to be here again with me. My outburst had probably made him think that I was still a child. I had to grow up and prove that I wasn't.

I just hoped I could find the courage to face him.

* * *

**Personally, I loved the girls' day, because I love Shelby. She's a tough cookie. Please review. I love to read what you guys have to say. It really keeps me going. xoxoxoxo**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 has arrived. Drama, drama, drama. Jacob and Nessie are both learning fast what "give and get" means. Unfortunately, Shelby gets put through drama of her own. It might seem out of nowhere, but it's how I see this going so, yeah. I just wanted Nessie to have her second in command just like Jake has his in Seth. I sense double-dates.**

**But anywhozzle, I don't own a damn thing. :(**

**Enjoy! Another update tomorrow. I'm still tweaking it a bit.**

* * *

**JPOV**

Edward had left me alone after about an hour of just watching the water saying that Bella was going to be worried. He'd asked me to come back down to the house. Clearly, he felt that I shouldn't be left alone. But honestly, I liked the solitude. I could think without someone else in my head, or someone to distract me.

Negotiations had come to a crashing halt when I'd told them that I wouldn't be going up there anymore. The Quileute tribe didn't need a treaty with them. We might have been small, but we weren't weak. And the Makahs didn't have werewolf guards. So if they wanted a treaty, they needed to come to us. Sam and I going up there had been courtesy, but no more. I was taking charge of things now, and that's how it was going to be.

Nessie needed a man. I needed to man up in other parts of my life before I could provide for her. I wanted to marry her, and that meant that Edward would be handing her over to my sole care. Being able to take care of her and provide came with the territory of being a man.

And just the thought of being solid in wanting to marry her, to put my name on her, made me realize that I had to take over the pack. I was sure of her, but not of myself. That's what had gotten us into this mess. My not taking over the pack a long time ago had snowballed to arrive at this moment.

Sam was needed at home with Emily and his soon-to-be-family. It was time for me to take over so that he could be the human husband and father. Sure, he'd phase when absolutely needed, but it was time for him to truly settle down. Nessie and I were going to be around long after Sam and Emily were gone from this world. We had the time that Sam was running out of.

Thoughts of Sam led to thoughts of my human friends and family. I had to come to terms with the fact that they weren't going to live forever with me and Nessie and the Cullens. They were going to pass away. Paul, Sam, and Seth would eventually quit phasing to be with Rachel, Emily, and Shelby. My other sister, Rebecca, would pass on. Billy wouldn't last forever. But we were also going to lose Charlie and Sue. I had to start planning for all of that. It wasn't going to be fun, but it was necessity and something that I'd been avoiding looking at too closely.

Not anymore. It needed to be done. Our tribe looked to Billy, Sam, and me to take care of them, to make sure they were protected. But the wolves also looked to us to take care of their families should anything happen to them.

I also needed to start planning for me and Nessie. Because I was going to marry her. I'd do anything to get back in her good graces. She'd want kids and a house of her own. Maybe her own car

I needed to start saving from the garage I worked at. Sure the Cullens could provide, but I still wanted my own money. I'd never have as much as them, but it couldn't hurt to put some away.

I also needed to talk to Edward about maybe building more cabins around the lake for the wolves. It couldn't hurt to have a couple more just in case.

The coffee table was covered in papers and lists and phone numbers. I spent the day doing research and calling around getting information.

It was the most productive I'd ever felt. And I planned to keep it up for the rest of my life. I had to.

I had to provide for Nessie, and give her the best life I possibly could.

**Shelby POV**

Finally, Nessie was getting it. As mature as she was, she'd still been acting like the giggly teenager with a massive crush. Now, she was starting to understand that we weren't in high school anymore and love was so much more serious than a crush. Love didn't fade. Love put you through the wringer before you were allowed to be happy.

Seth made everything easy. But he'd also had to grow up fast. His father passing away years ago had made him become the man of the house. Even though his sister was also a wolf, he felt as if he had to take care of her and their mother. Over the years, Jake had taken him under his wing at the car shop, and he learned to make a living.

That was the difference between Jacob and Seth. Seth had grown up. Jacob had been kept in that teenage stage when Nessie was born. And she'd matured into a woman without him following into manhood, so he'd thrown his immaturity over her like a shroud

They'd stayed like that for a while. Jacob couldn't handle all the pressure so he'd let Sam keep the top spot when it was never Sam's to begin with. As soon as Jake realized that he was supposed to replace Sam, he should have. He should have grabbed that responsibility, but he'd run from in instead, using protecting Nessie as an excuse.

I knew all this because I also had to grow up the hard way. My responsibility was through the front door that I was about to walk through when it swung open by itself. My dad stood in the doorway, eyes bloodshot and alcohol on his breath. He still hadn't gotten over my mother leaving us without a backward glance.

"Hi, dad."

He grunted. "Get in the house."

I had to bite my tongue. My first nature was to make a snappy comeback, but here, that was illegal and it could cost me a pretty penny.

"Where have you been?" he demanded once he closed the door.

I kept my eyes on the floor. "I went shopping with Nessie."

He stood in front of the door, crossed his arms, and glared at me. "Where are your bags?"

"I didn't get anything. It was more for her than me." Yeah it was a lie. I'd had Ness take my stuff with her with the excuse that Seth wouldn't dare search through her stuff. But the real reason was that my father always searched every single bag I brought into this house.

Seth had been asking when he'd get to meet my dad. Hopefully, never was my thought. My dad would never let me out of the house again if he knew I was seeing someone. That's why I always told Seth to call me when he came to pick me up. No doorbells. I'd told him it didn't work anyway.

Those eyes narrowed. "You're lying to me. And I know something's up. You've been too happy lately."

Too happy? I sighed, which was a mistake, but I just couldn't help it. "Dad, nobody can be too happy. Mom left us without looking back because she wasn't happy at all here. We shouldn't let her win. It's time for us to let go of her the way she washed her hands of us."

"Is that back talk?"

I shook my head, and made the smallest step back toward the stairs. His muddled brain didn't catch it.

"No, sir. I just don't understand why we have to keep being depressed. She left eight years ago. I can't hold on to my hatred that long. She's dead to me now, and I just want to live my life."

Without my seeing it, his hand whipped up out of nowhere and caught me on the left cheek. Tears sprang to my eyes as I hit the floor, hard.

"You're just like her. A mind of your own. The day women were allowed to think for themselves, they lost all their good sense. And good men were thrown to the curb." He gestured to the stairs. "Go clean yourself up and get in bed. Quit sniveling on the floor."

I scrambled up the stairs on all fours. When I got to my room, I locked the door and threw the extra dining table chair under the knob. It wouldn't keep him out, but it would give me time to get out the window before he realized what I was doing. I even kept a bag packed for just an occasion.

The mirror hanging on the back of my door showed that my cheek was deep red, but bruising and swelling fast. I sighed. Now, I wouldn't be able to see Seth for a few days. Or maybe I could say that the wind had caught my car door and smacked me in the face.

I couldn't keep doing this. School had been hell. I'd had to miss at least one day every week when he'd started drinking again. But I'd kept my grades up so that I could get a scholarship and get the hell out of here. After my senior year, though, he'd made it perfectly clear that I wasn't going anywhere. And now that I had Seth? I didn't want to leave town, but I couldn't keep staying here.

In all actuality, I could leave. I was eighteen, an adult. But getting out of here would cost me, and I wasn't to the point where I was willing to make that sacrifice.

I curled up on my bed with the stuffed wolf that Seth had bought me to remind me of him when he wasn't with me. It made me smile when I smelled his scent on it. He didn't wear cologne because it would have affected his sense of smell. But he didn't need cologne. His personal scent drove me crazy in the good way and he'd made sure to roll around on top of the toy before leaving it with me.

The smile left when I heard a loud crash downstairs. It made me flinch. Dad was in a mood again.

I was surprised when I heard him yell, "What the hell?"

At first, I thought he'd found something that I might have dropped or left down there, but then I heard a soft murmuring. It wasn't deep enough to be my dad's voice. Getting up off the bed, I pressed my ear to the door.

The murmuring was just too low for me to understand until the musical voice became just a little louder. "We're here to collect Shelby." My eyes widened. I knew that voice.

"The hell you are."

A vicious growl ripped through the house. "I would suggest that you not touch my wife."

Two seconds later, my doorknob turned, but the door didn't open when it was tried. The chair was still there.

"Shelby, sweetheart, open the door. It's Bella Cullen."

In a heartbeat, I threw the chair back and flung open the door. The look on her face was worried at first until she saw my face. Rage washed over her features. But it didn't scare me. I was just so happy to see her that I flung my arms around her as tears flowed down my face.

Just the fact that they were here meant that they'd been watching out for me. They'd come to take me out of here.

I was being saved.

**RPOV**

There was a knock on my door soft enough to tell me that it was Emily.

"Nessie?" Her black hair peeked around the door before I caught one worried eye.

"Yeah, what's up?"

She opened the door all the way to show me that Sam was standing there with her with a sad but angry look on his face.

"Your dad just called saying that he and Seth have been trying to get a hold of you."

I looked over at my phone before I remembered that I'd turned it off the first night I'd come down here.

"Oh. Yeah. I turned it off. What did they need?" And then it sank in that both Seth and my dad were trying to reach me. I felt the color drain from my face. "Which one? And what happened?" With both of them calling me, there could only be two common denominators. Neither of which I really wanted to be the cause of those looks.

Sam hugged his wife from behind. She leaned into him. "Shelby. Your dad says she's fine. Just a little shaken."

I dropped the clothes I was folding into my bag, zipped it up, and went for the door. I had been planning on going back tonight anyway. My family had already been forgiven, and I was just taking up space here. It was time for me to go back to the family house.

"Sorry, Em. I won't be staying for dinner." I squeezed her before kissing Sam on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it. I'll babysit for you some time."

"It's ok, sweetie. Just get up there to her. She needs you and Seth."

Sam tossed me something that jingled as it went through the air. I caught it and realized it was keys.

"Take the truck. It'll be faster."

Ten minutes later, I was tearing down the drive to my house. Pulling right up to the steps, I threw the giant truck in park, grabbed my bag, and ran into the house.

Nobody met me at the door. "Shelbs?" I called.

"In here," came Esme's voice from the kitchen.

I went in to the kitchen to find everybody except Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett. Shelby was sitting there with a bag of ice on the left side of her face. Seth was pacing behind her, checking under the bag every other second or so. Carlisle was bent over a file folder on the kitchen table, letting me know that he'd taken a look at her and decided that she needed a file now that she was in the weird people in-crowd.

Shelby wouldn't look at me.

"What happened?" I asked, dropping my bag at the doorway. Pulling the chair out beside her, I sat down. She flinched away from me when I initially reached for the bag, but I proceeded to gently pull it away from her face. The moment I saw the bruise, I felt the blood boil under my skin. "He _hit_ you?!"

She tried to put her hand back up to hide the mark, but I held her arm easily. "Ness, I'm fine."

"Shelby," Dad said in a warning tone.

"Edward," Seth said in the same tone.

She sighed and her eyes filled with tears. "Ok, I'm not fine. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Shelby, please. What happened?"

Her tears flowed freely and I grabbed a box of tissues. She took some and put them to her eyes.

"When I got home from our shopping trip, he was drunk. I was an idiot and shot my mouth off, so he hit me, telling me that I was just like my mother."

"What?" I growled. "He's _still_ on that kick?"

Instead of answering me, she smiled. "And then, I heard your mom and dad downstairs. They'd come to get me."

Speaking of my parents, they were standing in the corner, just watching us. Dad was watching Seth a little more closely than us, probably to grab him if he tried to go after Shelby's dad for hurting her.

"How did you know to go get her?"

A glance passed between Dad and Aunt Alice. Eventually, they nodded at each other.

"We'd been keeping an eye on the situation," Aunt Alice said.

"But how did you know _to_ keep an eye out?"

"Do you remember that day that you went to check on her outside her house? How you'd been watching her through the window as she looked at that picture of the two of you?" Dad asked me.

I nodded.

"Through your memory, I saw the bruise on her arm. It was something that you hadn't noticed but your subconscious picked it up."

I was upset that he hadn't told me about this, but I couldn't have another tantrum. I had to act like the adult that I'd been claiming to be. "Why didn't you tell me?"

His smile told me that he'd been listening to my thoughts, which meant that my shield was down. It was probably that way because I hadn't needed it up at the rez.

"Ness, I didn't want you to know. I didn't know that they did, but you had enough to worry about with Jake. If I could have helped it today, I'd still be at my house, curled up in bed. But your dad and aunt have big noses." Shelby smiled at me.

I couldn't help it. I had to hug her. So I did. I crushed her to me. "I still wish you would have told me. We could have gotten you out of there sooner."

She pulled back. "Speaking of which, I have to go back."

"I don't fucking think so," Seth growled. "You are never stepping foot in that house again. If there's something in there you want, I'll go get it, or send another wolf. But you are never going in there again."

She sighed. "Then where am I going to stay?"

Seth motioned around. "Here, my place. I don't care, but it won't be in that house."

She looked at Carlisle and my parents. "I can't stay here. I can't burden you."

Aunt Alice laughed. "Are you kidding? There's already a room for you here." She glanced at Seth. "That is, if he doesn't want you down on the rez with the wolves."

"As long as I can stay with her."

Shelby smiled that couple smile at him. It wouldn't be long before he asked her to marry him. They were that in love already.

"Of course, Seth. Our home is yours." Carlisle didn't even look up from the file when he said that.

We all three grinned at each other. We were going to be roommates. Dad handed Shelby a couple of pills and a glass of water. She needed to lay down with her man for a while and sleep. No doubt, over the years, she'd been so busy worrying after herself that she hadn't ever relaxed. Here she could.

I grabbed my bag on the way to the stairs, but motioned for them to walk ahead of me. Shelby turned around with a questioning look.

I smiled. "I'll be up to tuck you in. Give me a sec, ok?"

She smiled back and let Seth lead her up the stairs. As soon as I was sure she couldn't hear me, I turned back to the kitchen. "Seriously, Carlisle, is she ok?"

He stopped writing and looked up at me. "So far as I can tell. No concussions, her eyes dilated just fine, and her breathing is ok. I am concerned that she may be in for some asthma, though. I'll start her on regular breathing tests to make sure."

I nodded, and then kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, gramps." I turned to my parents. "And thanks, Mom, Dad, for getting her out."

Dad kissed me on the cheek as Mom pulled me in for a hug. "Shelby is now even more part of the family than she was before. And I consider her as close as a daughter."

Hugging them both around the waist, I whispered. "I love you both so much. I'm so sorry that I acted so childish."

Mom petted my hair down my back. "We all have moments when we have to lash out. And we all learn from those moments." She leaned back to look at me. "We love you, too. Now, get up to Shelby. She needs to be tucked in."

We all laughed as I grabbed my bag again and headed for my room to dump it. After I did that, I went for Shelby's room. By the time I got there, though, the painkillers had already taken effect and she was snoozing in Seth's arms.

"How is she?" I whispered.

He stroked the hair out of her face and shrugged. "You know how she is. Won't admit that she's falling apart, but I think she'll be ok. We can give her a better life here."

Going over to the bed, I stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad she's here, Seth. And I'm glad she has you."

"She has you, too, you know."

"Of course she does." I smiled at him. "Now get some sleep. You both need it."

I closed the door behind me quietly and went back for my room. The first thing I unpacked was the red lingerie set that I had bought earlier in the day. I set the two pieces between a couple comforters that were sitting on a shelf in the closet.

The next thing was the picture. I slipped it out of my pocket to put it back in its place on the wall. It had been put through hell and didn't sit as pretty as it had before, but I felt better once it was where it belonged. Studying some of the pictures I had the weirdest sense of déjà vu, like I'd seen them before in some other setting.

"Honestly, Edward, if it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't be in this position."

"Rosalie, Jacob has been a part of this family for nine years. Give it a rest."

I immediately checked to see that my mental shield was up when I heard those two voices drift through my cracked door. Glad to see that it was, I inched closer. It might have been wrong to eavesdrop, but I wanted to hear how much my aunt really disliked my soul mate.

"I won't drop it. If he'd never come back to see Bella for the wedding then he'd have never imprinted on my niece. She wouldn't have to put up with that weird wolf crap, the house wouldn't constantly stink, and we'd be a quiet little family. But no. He just had to come back…and stay." I knew that she hadn't liked him, but I hadn't known that she hated him. And I sure as hell didn't like her tone of voice. Jacob didn't stink. He smelled perfectly fine to me.

My mother's voice cut in. "Hush, Rosalie."

I heard my aunt sigh. "And now, Nessie thinks she's in love with him. Her kids are going to have that stink to them, just watch."

That was the last straw. I made my way quietly down the stairs, making sure to miss the squeaky step. Luckily, Dad started talking so his voice masked my steps.

"Rose, Nessie loves him. You need to accept that."

"Why should I? I'm family. I have a right not to like someone. Not to mention that in the end, she'd choose me over him."

With that, I stepped into the kitchen doorway. "Just how sure of that are you, Aunt Rosalie?" I crossed my arms over my stomach and glared at her.

Her grin was bright and fake. "Nessie, my favorite niece."

"I'm your only niece, and if you keep talking about Jacob like that, I won't even be that."

A collective gasp filled the room.

Aunt Rose smirked and gave me a "yeah, right" look. "Nessie, I'm your aunt. He's just your first love. In fact, you _think_ you're in love with him just because he imprinted."

"Oh, so my first love can't be my one and only just because yours killed you?"

Shock replaced her smirk as my mom hissed, "Renesmee Cullen!"

I held up my hand. "No, mom. I promised no more temper tantrums, but my aunt and I need to get something straight." I leaned my hands on the table in front of her. "Jacob is permanent in my life. Either you get used to that and start treating him with respect, or you're no longer my aunt."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times. "Nessie, I-,"

"Listen, Aunt Rose, I'm sorry about that comment. I really am. However, I need you to understand that I love Jacob Black. He is my forever. He won't do to me what that bastard did to you all those years ago. You need to stop living in the past and expecting every guy to be like him."

I took her hands, pulled her to her feet, and turned her to look at Uncle Emmett. "All these years, you've been missing the greatest thing that's ever happened to you. And you've been punishing us because you wanna be a bitch about the fact that your life didn't turn out the way you'd planned. But look at what you have. Uncle Emmett loves you. I'm sorry that you can't have kids and grow old together. But you have forever together. Don't waste any more of it. And stop projecting your problems on to other people." I stepped in front of her. "Though you and Jacob fight all the time, he'd still protect you. He cares about you even though you treat him like dirt."

"Would you really choose him over me?"

I sighed. "Don't give me options. You won't like the answers. All I can say is that I won't put up with this anymore. Not after all he and the pack have done for us. They deserve more than that."

She looked at the floor. "I can't help that I feel cheated."

"Rosalie," Uncle Emmett said, "do you really feel cheated? So saving me was just a mistake?"

Her eyes widened. "No, I didn't mean it like that." She went to him. "I just wish that you had been there first."

He put his big hand to her face gently as if he were scared that she'd break. "I know. I wish it had been me, too. But, Rose, you can't keep punishing Jacob for Roy's idiocy. You can't blame Nessie that the universe let her do it right the first time."

"What are you asking me?" she whispered.

"To let go of your hate. You know that Jacob's a good man, and that he loves her. He loves this family."

She nodded and turned to me. "Nessie, I-,"

I shook my head. "It's ok. All I ask is that you try. I don't want to have to choose."

I was exhausted. The past few weeks had dragged me down, and now I had to deal with internal squabbles. I loved Aunt Rosalie. I really did, but Jacob had become my number one. I'd always choose him, and she needed to realize that. Roy had betrayed her, nearly costing her her life. Something told me that she hadn't always been this hateful, this mean. She must have been nice in a conceited sort of way. Then, she was turned into a vampire. No kids of her own. No growing old with the man she loved. But then again, she hadn't saved Uncle Emmett until years after she'd been turned. She'd have died in the streets, and he'd have been torn apart by that bear.

And I knew Uncle Emmett loved his life as a vampire. Sure, he'd wanted kids, but Aunt Rose was his dream woman. He was madly in love with her, and she was too blinded by her past to see it, though she knew she loved him too.

I went back up to my room, hoping that I had gotten through to her. I wanted to know my aunt. I wanted her to live the life that she'd been dealt, and learn to enjoy it.

Telling her that Jacob was my forever had felt right. It had rolled right off my tongue, and I loved it. I sat there on my bed and stared at all the pictures. The sense of déjà vu pulled at me even harder when I found the photo of me and Jacob sitting on the couch, his arm around my shoulders, my hand on his stomach.

I'd seen that setting somewhere before, but I just couldn't place it. There was another one of us in a clearing. We'd been wrestling and he was on his back, holding me up above him.

And that was when something inside me unlocked. I suddenly remembered the lost dreams. Jacob and I on the couch, making out. Jacob lying on top of me on the ground in a clearing. Jacob pulling me on top of him in bed. My hands running over his skin. The intricately carved ring on my finger. The wedding. The children.

Our wedding. Our children.

At once, all the emotions crashed into me. The lust, love, and warmth spread through me. It had me gasping for breath through the blur of tears.

Suddenly, I _had_ to see him, touch him, feel his skin under my fingertips. I _needed_ to tell him what I had just told my aunt: that he was my forever, and I couldn't live without him.

I needed to tell him that I loved him.

* * *

**So Nessie is feeling Jacob withdrawals. I am loving your reviews. Some of you are wondering if I listen to anything when I write. As a matter of fact, I do have a playlist. If you guys wanna know what it is, ask. If I get enough requests, I'll put it in the AN of the next chapter. xoxoxoxoxo**


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 is here! YAY! I think the next few chapters are going to be my favorite to right, but seriously dramatic. This chapter isn't drama at all. It's one of those "well it's about damn time" sort of deals. And I really hope you guys enjoy it.**

***sigh* I ****_still_**** own nothing.**

**JPOV**

My fur coat flung water in all directions before I phased and darted into the cabin. The rain hadn't started to downpour about fifteen minutes ago. I'd decided to go phase for the first time in days. The stretching of my body had felt better than good. It relaxed me as much as I could be relaxed.

I'd gotten a lot done since yesterday. There was some unused land between here and the rez that maybe the Cullens would buy so that we could build on it. The packs were expanding with every wolf that imprinted and had a family. And this random lake was large enough to have cabins ring it without being on top of each other. I could talk to Edward later. Right now I just wanted to come up with a plan to give him.

The hardest part of the day had been to call Billy and talk to him about his plans should anything happen to him. It was hard but we'd talked about his will and whether he wanted to be buried or cremated. He'd told me that my mother had been cremated, and he'd kept her ashes as per her wish. She'd wanted him to keep them so that when he passed, they could be scattered together at the same time, in the same place. A little morbid, but I knew they'd loved each other that much. I'd never seen him even glance at another woman in that way in my entire life.

He'd asked me why I was so interested in all this now. I told him about my revelation of how young I'd been acting all this time. He hadn't argued with me, but hadn't said anything else either.

After I got out of the shower, I put on some worn out jeans and black tank. I made my way back upstairs to plunk myself on the couch. There were plans that still needed to be made. I'd talked to a bank in Forks and decided that I would take the cash that I'd been saving and open an account there. It wouldn't be much, but I'd stash every paycheck there.

I had just started shuffling papers on the table when a flash of lightning cracked across the sky and the cabin went dark. The Cullens hadn't attached a back-up generator here so I heaved myself of the couch go in search of flashlights, candles, matches, anything that would help me see.

First though, I went to the giant picture window that the couch faced and pulled the drapes aside. The lightning kept flashing through the room and the moon was full, flooding the room with silver light. The window was large enough and the light strong enough that I could make my way around this floor without a problem.

Checking cabinets and drawers, I found one cabinet that was dedicated to white, red, and black unscented candles and a drawer filled with boxes of matches and various types of lighters.

There were enough candles to put three to each small room and at least five in each large room. By the time I was done lighting them, the cabin was filled with a soft glow. And that was when I realized that this cabin was beautiful. Everything about it screamed "home". The large, open areas. The cozy rooms. It was comfortable place to be in, and it was relaxing being next to the lake. It was a good family home.

And that made me think of Nessie and her dream. Immediately, I imagined two toddlers running around the couch, socked feet slipping on the hardwood floor being chased by me while their mother sat on the couch laughing, holding her swollen stomach.

It wasn't what Nessie had imagined in the dream, but it wasn't the location that mattered. It was the family. And I could picture our family here, or something like it.

I knew she and I were a ways off from a family, but living here with her would cement us here. We'd sink our feet in and create roots, a base for the family we may someday have. And it would be great to have a place away from the others, just us.

I shook my head. First, we had to reconcile. I had to get her to forgive me.

Looking around me, I wasn't in the mood to work. I was in the mood to daydream.

So I stretched out on the couch and fantasized about all the things I wanted from my life now with a smile on my face.

**RPOV**

As soon as that realization hit me, I turned on my phone and started dialing. When the call was picked up, I nearly shouted.

"Derek! Hey is Adam with you?"

"Yeah, what's up, Ness? Something wrong?"

There was just no way to keep the grin off my face. "No, Der. Everything's so right, but I need you to escort me up to the cabin that Jake is staying in."

As soon as I said that, lightning flashed. The rain hadn't yet reached us and I wanted to get out before it did. The cabin was a mile or two up into the woods so it might have already started raining there. I didn't care. I needed to see Jacob.

"Nessie, it's about to start hurling outside. Jake would kill us if you ran in the rain and got sick."

I sighed in relief that he hadn't been about to tell me that he was too squeamish to run in the rain.

"Derek, I'll be fine in the rain. Please. Jacob would kill you if you let me in the woods alone, and if you don't take me, then I'll go on my own. I'm already halfway out the door."

Which was kind of true. I was slipping into one of Jacob's old hoodies and hopping into my shoes by the front door.

I heard a chuckle through the line. "That's funny because Adam and I are standing in front of the door and aren't seeing any half of you."

I hung up and flung the door open to reveal the two grinning wolves. They were best friends and always teamed up to run patrols. They even lived together on the reservation.

Derek was super tall and broad. He'd been muscular before going through the change and had bulked up even more after. With those muscles, deep blue eyes, and silky black hair, he was every girl's wet dream.

Adam was thinner, but lean. His eyes were bright green, like Shelby's. And his black hair was so fine that it fell into his eyes and always looked good even after the wind ripped into him.

Derek swept an arm out. "After you, boss lady."

I jumped off the porch with both wolves close behind. When I heard clothes rip behind me him, I was surprised.

"Guys, I could have waited two seconds for you to change in the woods."

Both wolves were variants of grey. Derek was darker, almost black. Adam was closer to white. But they looked at each other, grinned at me, and then charged for the trees.

"Hey!" I called after them. "No fair!"

I followed them through the trees, jumping roots and dodging limbs. It felt good to run like this. I hadn't done it in a while. But I also knew that it was also my feelings that made me feel free. I was so happy that I was going to see Jacob. Those remembered dreams had told me everything that I needed to know. My subconscious had known all along how all this would turn out. And now, I needed to make it happen here in reality. My dream self was already married with kids. How much clearer could the message get?

Adam had taken the lead while Derek ran behind me. They weren't just my guides, but my guards. Looking back, I realized that all along they'd treated me like I was Jacob's mate. In the wolf world, the mate of the alpha male was the alpha female. She was respected as much as the male. Their treatment of me had been grooming me to become a leader as well. Fancy that.

It wasn't long before I started to feel drops of rain just seconds before the sky opened up and, as Derek had put it, hurled all over us. I was drenched in seconds. Adam put on a burst of speed and I followed. If I'd wanted to, I could have outrun him. He wasn't as fast as Jacob, but I respected the fact that they were here to keep me safe. They couldn't do their jobs if they couldn't keep up with me. Luckily, they were still quite fast.

Before I knew it, the cabin came into view through the trees. I'd expected more lights on, but upon further inspection, I saw that what lights were on were flickering. Candles. The power must have gone out.

They ran with me all the way to the front clearing of the house, just in view of the front door. The lake was positioned at the back of the cabin.

I put my hands on my knees, panting, as the rain beat down on us. I looked at the two boys and giggled. Their fur had flattened to their bodies, making them look very much like the wet dogs they were.

I patted them on the muzzles. "Thanks, guys. I got it from here. Go home and get warm."

I watched until they disappeared through the trees, and then turned to face the cabin. It was one of my favorite buildings in the world. I knew that inside was nice and cozy with dark hardwood floors, burgundy walls, and picture windows that looked out over the lake. But right now, it was beautiful because Jacob was in there painted with candlelight.

But now that I was here, I was nervous about how welcoming he would be toward me. Did he want to see me yet?

I walked up the porch steps, my finger hovering over the doorbell. Taking a deep breath, I hit the button.

Nothing happened, so I hit it again.

Nothing.

I knew he was in there, so maybe he really didn't wanna see me.

Honestly, I hadn't realized that I'd pushed it again and was leaning into it until I heard shuffling from inside. I also heard mumbling that got clearer the closer he got to the door.

"I'm coming! Geez, Edward. It's just a storm." The door swung open. "I'm fi-,"

He cut that short when he saw me and his eyes widened.

My breath got stuck in my chest. I'd forgotten how utterly beautiful he was. The candlelight made his tan skin gleam like molten caramel. The black tank showing his arms to wonderful advantage. For once I looked at him the way a woman looks at her man. But there was also something different about him. A new set to his shoulders, more confidence. The way he held himself now made him taller somehow, more intimidating.

"Nessie?" His eyes left me to search the woods behind me. "What are you doing here? Alone?"

I really didn't want to take the time to tell him that I hadn't. Instead, my eyes had locked on his full lips, and I remembered how they had felt for those two seconds when I'd kissed them. I wanted them on mine so bad.

So, without thinking too hard about it, I stepped up to him, grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his mouth to mine. He froze in my arms, and I prayed to whatever god existed that he wouldn't pull away.

After a heartbeat, I felt his arms snake around my waist as his body unfroze. His lips moved with mine hesitantly at first so I backed off a little. But as soon as I started pulling away, he chased after me, holding my lips to his.

Speaking of his lips, they were soft, warm, and chaste. And oh, so gentle. His hands pulled my body against his. And it was perfectly ok with me. Both of us were getting soaked by the rain. When I'd pulled him down to me, I must have yanked him out the front door.

He was just as soaked through as I was. Water ran down his face from his hair as I stroked his cheeks.

When lightning flashed over the sky, his lips left mine for all of two seconds so he could look up. And then he was back. My whole body felt exactly like lightning. I felt so alive in Jacob's arms. My body craved to be near his. Over these few days, I'd wondered why my body had felt achy. Carlisle had thought that I was coming down with a cold from all the emotional crap going on, but there hadn't been a sniffle in sight.

Now? All the aches were gone and warmth flooded me all the way to my toes. Even though the wind was blowing and there was a chill in the air, I'd never felt so warm in my life. It was that warmth that you feel from coming in to a warm house after hours of playing in the snow.

It was the warmth of coming home.

**JPOV**

I couldn't believe it. I _could not_ believe that Nessie was in my arms, her hands grasping my face, and her lips on mine. But I didn't question it. I gripped her waist and pulled her to me. My hands felt so sensitive to touch that I hadn't realized until now that because she's my reason for existing and I'd thought I'd lost her, that I'd lost feeling of the world around me.

My fingers scratched against the fabric of the hoodie she was wearing as I tugged her closer. My lips were tingling where she met them with hers. Her lips were wet and slippery from the rain, and they tasted heavenly.

But when lightning flashed through the sky, I knew I had to get her inside. It was too dangerous to stay out here. I didn't want to let go of her yet, so I picked her up around the waist, our lips still working together. She wrapped her legs around my waist, making my stomach flip. I had no illusions about the placement of our bodies and how, if events happened just right, they could be tangled together intimately.

When she tightened her legs around my waist, my hands automatically moved from her waist to her thighs. It was instinct. When she'd been little, I'd crossed my hands under her butt, but as she grew and would jump into my arms, I had to stop because it was too iffy an area. But now, I just couldn't help myself.

And she seemed to like it, tightening herself around my body. And my body reacted to her. The wolf was screaming in my head, wanting me to make her ours since she very obviously liked when I kissed and touched her. But no, I couldn't do that. So I used my handle on her thighs to keep her up from the lower part of my body.

She'd stopped kissing me when my grip had tightened, and we were staring into each other's eyes as I kicked the door closed and headed for the nearest couch.

Leaning down, I set her on the cushions and knelt between her knees. It was similar to what she had started doing with me, so I figured it was ok. I brushed her soaked hair back from her face. She leaned into the touch, but then leaned into me like she was looking for something else. Her eyes kept darting down to my lips as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

God, I'd missed seeing her do that. I watched her for a moment before I leaned in to kiss her lightly. I grinned when she sighed contentedly.

"Nessie, what-,"

She smiled. "I needed you, Jacob."

My eyes closed in relief. Those words made me feel a thousand times taller. I opened my eyes again when she stroked the water from my face.

"I'm tired of feeling childish. I'm tired of hurting you. And-," she pulled that lip back between her teeth.

I rubbed my thumb just beneath her teeth gently so she'd release it. "And what, sweetheart?"

It was her turn to close her eyes in relief. "I-I remembered those dreams that Dad said were peaceful. But you knew about them, because you asked me if I remembered them." She lowered her eyes from mine. "Did you see them for yourself or did Dad tell you?"

Each time I touched her, I was expecting to wake up. So, I kept at least one hand on her at all times. I stroked her cheek. "That night that you'd had that nightmare of me with my throat ripped out. You kept touching my neck to make sure the skin was still there. When you finally fell asleep in my arms, your fingers kept sneaking up to touch me. You sucked me into your dreams. I saw all of them."

Her eyes widened. "All of them?" she squeaked.

I knew which one made her nervous, but I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, all of them."

She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. After a moment, she nodded and took my other hand in hers. "I need to tell you something. And it's very important."

I nodded. There were also some things that I needed to say to her, but, first, she needed to get into some dry clothes. She'd started shivering, and I wasn't sure if it was from the cold or her feelings. But I didn't want to risk her getting sick.

I brought her fingers to my lips and her eyes watched the movement. "Ok, sweetie, but I think you need to get a hot shower and some dry clothes. You go do that while I start a fire, ok? We both have things we need to say."

I leaned in and kissed her lips. Man, that was never going to get old, especially when she leaned into it. Her hands came up to cup my face again, her fingers brushing the hair at my temples.

It felt so good to have her like this. Any second I was going to wake up on the couch in the other room where I'd fallen asleep daydreaming, and she wouldn't be here looking at me with a new heat in her eyes.

"Promise me you won't go anywhere," she whispered.

I pressed my lips to hers again, and whispered back, "I swear."

When she stood up, I sat back into my heels. Our eyes never left the other's so when her eyes turned sad and she stroked my face, I wrapped my arms around her and pressed my face into her stomach.

I felt her bend over to drape herself over me. Her lips in my hair were gentle as she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Jacob." And then she leaned back to look at me. "Let me get a shower and then we'll talk."

It made me smile when she did that. She always reminded me of that rat thing in The Lion King that always repeated everybody's ideas like they'd been his own. She'd just repeated my plan like that.

"Ok. Go get warm."

Only, neither one of us moved. I kneeled there on the floor, my arms trapping her. She stood there, allowing me to trap her, with her hands stroking my face.

I wasn't sure how long we stood there like that, but when she shivered violently, I let her go. Standing up, I hugged her to my chest, kissed her hair, and said, "I love you, Renesmee Cullen." And then I pushed her gently toward the stairs and headed for the firewood. "Now go, so I can get this done."

She was not going to freeze on my watch. She'd never again want for anything.

Ever.

* * *

***happy sigh* Man, I love this couple. But some serious drama is on its way. Hopefully, it will be believable to you guys like it is to me. But I'll write and post it, and we will find out. Love you guys! xoxoxoxoxoxo**


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17! I love this chapter so much. I think we can see the beginnings of a new life for the two. And their chemistry is fantabulous! Now, I know that some of you will be hoping for some Lemons in this story. I really hate to disappoint you because I already have tons of ideas. So yes, a sequel may come after. I gotta map it out. And of course get this one done.**

**I'm getting tired of saying I don't own this world. :(**

**Please enjoy this chapter as much as I did!**

* * *

**RPOV**

As Jacob moved around getting things ready to make a fire, I watched him. Everything felt so different. But the only thing that had changed was that we'd kissed the way two people do when they love each other. But I guess that was the difference. No matter how this talk was going to go, we were together now. And not just together as in each other's presence. No, we were soul mates.

Before I went for the downstairs bathroom, I watched him work and studied the house. A life here would be nice. Just me and Jacob. And eventually kids. A smile came to my lips as I thought about my dream. The most vivid picture burst to my head. Me in the kitchen that was to my left, making dinner. And coming out to the living room in front of me to find Jacob asleep on the couch with a sleeping baby curled on his chest.

The baby would be so warm there. His daddy was always warm.

My hand found my stomach. What would it be like to carry a child? Jacob's child? What would it feel like when our child kicked? I wanted to know so badly, but first we had to get through all this mess. And of course, we had to become even more intimate. That made me blush. If just one kiss had been that hot between us, then how hot would…other activities be?

"Nessie, what are you doing? Go take a shower and into dry clothes. Your dad would kill me if you got sick." Jacob was standing next to the couch watching me.

"I was thinking."

He frowned. "About what?"

Clearly, he didn't remember this conversation. He'd been utterly serious with his answer, but I couldn't help but smile. "The future."

He gave me a questioning look at first, and then understanding took over. He remembered. "The future."

My smile got bigger. "Yeah." I couldn't help myself. Skipping over to him, I pulled him down to me again and pressed a kiss hard to his mouth.

He gripped my waist hard and kissed me back, his tongue darting out to brush over my lips. It startled me into pulling back to look at him.

He was breathing hard and his eyes were a little unfocused. "Sorry."

While he was watching me, I traced my own tongue over the trail he'd taken. The taste of him was still there so I licked them again. His eyes watched the movement, steadily becoming darker with each pass of my tongue.

I shook my head. "It's ok, Jake. I like it."

I'd barely gotten my words out when he crashed back into me, stopping all thought processes and any other words I might have wanted to say. His tongue darted out again and this time, I opened my mouth to him. For a moment, his lips paused on mine in surprise. And then slowly, very slowly, his tongue snaked into my mouth to touch mine. It was pure bliss and electricity, but it ended too soon. Jacob groaned low in his chest, finished the kiss, and pulled back. I pecked his lips before he let go of me completely.

"Good god, woman. Go take your shower."

He'd turned away and scrubbed his face with both hands. I didn't mind. I loved that I could affect him that way, because he affected me that way. I wanted nothing more than to lie in a bed and press ourselves together skin to skin.

I knew that this was all new and difficult so I let him have his calming moment and went for the stairs. But a thought occurred to me as I stepped down the first step so I turned back around and leaned on the frame.

"Hey, Jake?"

I heard him breathe out heavily as he turned around. "Yeah?"

"I love you. And I can't wait to have a life with you."

That made him grin. But I took off down the stairs before he could say anything. If he did, it would be something sweet, and then I'd never get a shower because we'd probably end up making out. Not to mention that we still had some stuff to talk about.

I made my way down the stairs, but when I walked into the room and saw the rumpled bed, my dream of Jacob pulling me on top of him in bed crashed into me so hard that I thought my blush was going to pop my head off.

I quickly went around the bed and darted into the bathroom.

**JPOV**

This was one hell of a night. Even though I knew I wasn't, I felt like I was still dreaming. Had I really kissed her the way that I'd been dreaming of doing for months?

I flopped down on the couch where I had been daydreaming about taking Nessie into my arms and kissing her all day. The fire was heating up the room fast and had flooded the space with flickering amber light.

The universe had shifted just because we'd had our moment. That one moment that changed the course of our lives forever. Those dreams that she had could very well turn into reality. And she'd said that she couldn't wait to have a life with me.

Well, hell. Our life together just started tonight. That one kiss changed everything. Could this really be happening? Immediately, I got up and went for the stairs. I had to go all the way down into the room to make sure that I wasn't just hearing the shower. She hadn't closed the door all the way so some steam leaked out into the room, smelling of her shampoo and soap.

So I wasn't dreaming. She was here and in the shower. And when she was done, she'd come back upstairs where we would talk. Was she hungry? Had she missed dinner? Would she want some hot chocolate to sip on in front of the fire while we talked? Great, I was becoming a girl.

Before I went back upstairs, I changed into a pair of sweats. But when I got back up to the kitchen, I lost my steam. What the hell was I thinking? I didn't know how to cook. Nessie, Bella, or Esme always cooked for me and the pack. Not to mention that the power was out.

But we had the fire. Hmmm. I opened the fridge to find bacon and eggs. Breakfast food. I could make that and I knew she liked scrambled eggs. I made sure there was ketchup first because she'd only eat the eggs with the stuff. The milk was still good. Looking at the battery operated clock on the wall, I figured she had about five to ten more minutes in the shower. It would take another ten for her to get toweled off and dressed. So I had time to get a skillet heated over the fire for the bacon.

The fireplace actually held some sort of do-hickey that would hold three or four different pots or pans for cooking. The damn fireplace took up half the wall, so I set a couple skillets over the fire to heat up. My timing was perfect. By the time the shower cut off, I had the eggs mixed and the bacon cooking.

When I heard her moving around in the bedroom, I started cooking everything. It felt surprisingly good to be doing this for her. I could get used to it. I wondered if she felt like this when she did things for me. It was a satisfying feeling, providing for her.

A moment later, I saw her appear in the door way that led to the stairs out of the corner of my eye. Her long hair was pulled up into a messy knot at the top of her head. There was a frown on her face, and her teeth had caught her lip again. She was in a light green long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of purple and green flannel pajama pants. In her hands was something purple. That's what she was frowning at.

"Jake, something you wanna tell me?" she asked holding up her sweater.

I smiled. "What? Don't recognize your own shirt?" She must have found it on the bed, but I knew what she was thinking. It was cute to see her jealous.

"Oh." She played with the shirt for a moment before her face cleared into a smile. "Why do you have it?"

I looked over to see that the eggs and bacon were ready, so I scraped the food onto a giant plate and set the cooling skillets on the brick of the fireplace. She followed the smell of food and sat down on the couch, forgive my pun, Indian style, wedged into the corner with the shirt bundled in her lap. I could feel her eyes on me as I moved.

I answered her while I got some silverware from the kitchen. "Your bag was still in my duffel when- I took off." I had wanted to say "when you kicked me out", but I didn't want this to turn into a fight. A conversation was all I was after. I handed her a fork, the ketchup, and the plate and shrugged. "I guess I needed to scare away some nightmares of my own."

She smiled. "You were right about that. I didn't have any either."

"So you slept with my clothes, too?"

The blush was deeper than usual because the shower had turned her skin a nice rosy color. "Yeah. And your pillow." She took a bite of egg, swallowed, and said, "And that picture of us."

I laughed and sat next to her. But I noticed she wasn't really eating all that much. I'd probably messed something up.

"Did I mess up the food?"

She shook herself out of whatever zone she'd been in and smiled at me. "No, it's good. It's fine." She put the fork down and sighed, the smile fading. "I just-I need to say the things that I came here to say."

Understanding what she meant, I took the plate from her and placed it on the coffee table. When I sat back, she took my hand in hers, playing with my fingers.

"Jake," she whispered, getting me to look her in the eyes. Hers were full of tears. "I am so, so very sorry for what I did to you the other night. It was cruel and childish."

I stilled her hand from playing with mine by placing my other hand over hers. "Nessie, I'm only going to say this once, so I want you to listen to me." I waited for those tear-filled eyes to meet mine. When they did, I squeezed her hands. "What happened has happened. But you had every right to be angry with me. I hadn't really thought about it until I got here and cooled down that you were right in saying that I kept a secret about your own life from you. I took your choices away instead of insuring you had them. You had every right to beat the crap out of me for what I did."

Her hands slipped out of mine and covered her mouth as she realized something. "Oh my god, Jake, I _hit_ you!" Her hands lowered so that she could study my chest. When she found the bruises, her tears flowed freely.

She pushed me away when I reached for her. I gripped her forearms anyway and pulled her to me. "Nessie, stop. It's ok."

She pulled back to stare at me in horror. "No, it's not ok. I hit you so hard that I left marks on you. How is that ok?"

"Because I deserved it."

She shook her head so violently that the bun on her head shook. "No, you didn't. Oh god, I am such a child."

She kept trying to pull away from me so I pulled her into my lap and held her in place. "No you're not. You're a woman who was lied to all her life by the one man who was supposed to always be honest with her. I swear that I will never lie to you again. It was unforgivable." I pulled away to look at her. "In all reality, I'm surprised you're here and that that kiss actually happened."

"Why?" she whispered. She placed her head on my chest and gently traced the fading bruises and welts from the scratches.

I stroked her back and rested my chin on top of her head. "Because I was scared that you'd never forgive me. A secret that big? That personal?" I shook my head. "You can't even know how ecstatic I am right now, how happy."

"Jacob, if anyone is to blame, it's Dad." She leaned back to study me face. "You were going to tell me eventually, right? I remember you saying something about it that night, but I wouldn't listen. What was it?"

At first, I wasn't going to answer, but she was staring at me so intently that I felt I had to. "Of course I was going to tell you. My idiotic self was going to wait until I knew for certain that you'd chosen me. Your dad kept telling me that you had in fact chosen me, but I should have listened to my gut. In the past, your dad's decisions haven't been all that awesome. And clearly mine weren't either."

"Jacob-,"

"_But_," I said, shushing her with a finger to her lips. "I can't say that I'm terribly angry with your dad for putting his nose in our business. If he hadn't, we wouldn't be here right now. We wouldn't be _together_ together."

My finger had decided that it liked touching her lips, and I felt it when she tugged on the bottom one with her teeth. She was thinking about what I had said. I knew this because there was a frown line between her chocolate eyes.

"I guess you're right. We'd probably still be acting all awkward and stuff. Well," she amended. "Different awkward than we will be now." She smiled against my finger. "But I like this awkward. It's a good awkward."

Chuckling, I leaned forward and grabbed the plate of food. "So, do you feel better now that we've talked?"

She shifted my lap, and my body had a mind of its own, so I scooted her closer to my knees. I didn't think she really noticed. All she did was lean her shoulder on my chest and head on my shoulder. When she sighed, I knew there was something else on her mind.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

She picked a piece of bacon on the plate and nibbled on it. She huffed again. "Jake, no secrets between us, right?"

"Right." That question made me a little uneasy, but I vowed to myself that whatever she had to say, I'd listen.

"Well, I hadn't come to the conclusion that I was too hard on you on my own."

"What do you mean? Did your dad say something again?" I was worried that if he'd said something, then she may have some misplaced feelings. Edward had a way of making people feel guilty over things that they had every right to do or say.

She shook her head. "No, it wasn't Daddy. I…well, I met someone."

I had been thinking that the "us" thing would be awkward now especially after that hot kiss. But I was wrong. We were both comfortable touching each other, like it was the most natural thing on the planet. I had one hand resting on her thighs while the other rubbed her back.

The smile in her voice, though, had my body freezing up. And she must have felt it because she stroked her hand over my neck and shoulder.

"Not like that, Jake. Never like that." She sat up to look at me with what looked like fear in her eyes. "Please don't be mad at me. I know it was stupid, but…"

With her irritation, my anxiety rose. I stroked her face and it surprised me when it seemed to calm her down. "Nessie, just tell me. Really, I'm not worried about anything when you're here in my arms."

That made her smile genuinely. The smile slipped a couple notches as she tried to figure out what to say. "You remember those wolves?"

I nodded. How could I forget?

"Well, a couple days ago, I went into the woods, but only a little ways in. Not too far. I was crying and holding our picture. Caden found me."

My growl couldn't be helped. I didn't like thinking that she'd been alone with one of them. She quickly stroked my neck. Her skin on mine calmed me down. Huh. Well, what do you know. We were each other's worry stones.

"Jacob, he's the white wolf. The one that saved me." A smile played over her lips. "He'd realized why I'd been crying because I'd dropped the picture. And I told him about us, about what happened. He'd told me that I'd been too hard on you. That you'd been put in a seriously awkward situation by imprinting on me and Daddy hadn't made it any better."

When her smile got bigger from remembering, I stroked her cheek. "What?"

Her eyes dropped to her hands. "He told me that life's too short to waste on being angry. He told me to kiss you and love you, and not to make you suffer for too long because a girl like me could drive a guy crazy."

That raised my eyebrows. "He said that?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmm," I murmured as I stroked her back. "I guess I owe him one, huh?"

She cuddled up into my chest. "I think we both do."

For a while we sat in silence, each in our own thoughts. She nibbled at the food and before long it was gone. She turned in my lap so her back was against my chest and reached for my hands, pulling them and my arms around her. I rested my chin on her shoulder and she leaned her head against mine.

Together, as a couple, we watched the fire flicker in the room.

**RPOV**

This was utterly perfect. I wished like hell that we could take what he had now and go back to those snow days where we were trapped in the house. Jacob's fingers wound around mine as he held me to him. When I'd first sat on his lap, he'd moved me away from a certain part of his anatomy. I didn't know whether he was embarrassed or just didn't want to freak me out, but it was sweet that he was trying to rein himself in. So when I turned to lean my back against him, I respected his wishes and stayed scooted toward his knees.

His breath was a tickle on my neck, skin warm against mine. It made me think of how close his lips were to mine. Within easy reach. Just one turn of my head and I kissed the corner of his mouth. It felt right to be able to just kiss him when I wanted. Of course, I was assuming he wanted it, too.

It shocked him out of his own thoughts, making him pull away a little to look at me. Those dark eyes flicked to my mouth as he licked his lips. I leaned into him, letting him know that I wanted more.

He was sweet and his lips were gentle as they met mine. Though I didn't really want gentle, I went with it. This was new for both of us so it was probably good to keep it slow. But on the other hand, in every movie that I'd watched and book that I'd read, new couples rarely went slow. The passion was always intense at first. Don't get me wrong, I understood Jake's hesitancy. He didn't want to freak me out. But I knew he felt the same lust that I did. I'd felt it in him when I'd shown up at the door. His lips had been gentle at first because he'd been unsure, but as soon as he knew that I wasn't pulling back and running, he'd crushed me to him.

Now, I did the unthinkable and pushed his kisses back, using my back to lean his against the couch cushions. Once he was back enough to let me move, I turned and straddled his legs, and didn't keep closer to his knees.

His hands went to my waist to push me back. "Ness-,"

I shook my head. "Jacob, I know you want me. And I know this because I see how you react to me at a certain time in the month. And I know what you do in the shower." I raised my eyebrows with insinuation.

"Nessie, I-," he started, blushing, but I wasn't done.

"And I want you, Jake. You've seen my dreams." I think we both blushed, but I had a point to make. "It's not just my subconscious telling me what will happen. It's telling me what I want to happen…now." He frowned and I stroked his cheek. He leaned into it with eyes closed. "Look, I'm not saying that I want to make love with you right this second. I mean, I want to eventually, yes. God, yes. But, Jake, you're trying to make it awkward. I think we should just take things how we feel. I know that your body is reacting. Moving me to your knees wasn't as subtle a move as you thought." His blush deepened. It made smile. "Jake, I promise you that if I was capable of a noticeable physical reaction, you'd be seeing it."

A look of doubt came to his eyes. "Really?"

I snorted. "Are you serious? Do I really have to tell you? Let me go through the list of everything about you that drives me crazy, in the good way." I was opening my mouth to start the list when his mouth against mine shut me up. This time, I slithered my tongue into his mouth to meet his. And I loved it.

He groaned and pulled back on my waist, trying to pull me away. I let him, but I knew there was some serious heat in my eyes when they met his.

"Ness, I'm not looking for compliments."

"I know, but Jacob, I don't want to be awkward with you. Especially since we're now together in the way that we should have been months ago. I don't want to be made to think that we're doing something wrong, because we're not. I love you. You love me. We're soul mates, Jacob. That means that it's us forever. We know where our story is going, but we have to write it. I don't want it to be scribbled with awkward moments. I want it passionately scrawled with heat and love."

Watching my face, he stroked my cheek. "You really have a way with words when you want something, you know that, don't you?"

Wrapping my arms around his neck to play with the hair at the base of it, I leaned in to him with a smile. "I want us, Jake. Two people who are weird with each other are not supposed to be together. _We_ are supposed to be together. You're not going to scare me away. In fact," I rolled my hips to that I could feel his reaction. When I hit the front of his hips and what was there, I shivered and my stomach tightened in anticipation. "I _love_ knowing and feeling your reaction to me."

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. His breathing was shallow and uneven, making his bare chest rise frantically. Those large hands around my waist gripped me tighter.

Leaning forward, I put my mouth next to his ear. "I want us to feel, Jacob. All this time we've been thinking and worrying. It's time to stop. We're here, with each other in the way that we're supposed to be. It's just a new chapter. We shouldn't have to get used to each other. We _are_ used to each other, and have wanted each other like this for a while."

He shivered violently, his hands squeezing me tighter. "Nessie Cullen, you're going to be the death of me," he whispered hoarsely.

I grinned and shook my head. "No, Jacob Black. I'm the beginning of your life. And you're mine."

* * *

**So, Nessie really is growing up on us, huh? I love a strong woman, especially when she knows what she wants. And I really love you guys! Please don't forget to review. Your reviews keep me wanting to write. I appreciate them. xoxoxoxox**


	19. Chapter 18

**Hi, guys! Chapter 18 has arrived. I have loved the past couple chapters. This is what they've been needing. And they really have matured more with each other. It's great.**

**Anyways, I don't own anything except plot.**

**Please, enjoy!**

* * *

**JPOV**

Those words had me staring at her. All this time, we'd been thinking the same things. The way she'd said everything tonight had set so good inside of me that I felt warm, comfortable, with her now. This _was_ our story. And we loved each other the way men and women love each other. It wasn't wrong to want her now.

That realization crashed into me hard. _It wasn't wrong to want her. _

I was still busy being frozen in awe of that thought when I felt her mouth on my neck. Her lips rubbed from my neck down to my chest, and it took me a moment to realize that she was kissing the bruises and scratches.

"I-am-so-sorry." Each word was punctuated with a kiss and whispered against my skin.

I swallowed hard again as her hands smoothed around my neck, over my shoulders, and down my chest. She pressed her nails into my stomach. If I squeezed her waist anymore, I'd bruise her, so I moved my hands down to her hips. The problem, though, with that was that my hands were big. My fingers brushed her ass, and with my newly regained sensitivity, it was amazing. If we'd had to confess what we loved most about the other physically, I had to say her curves. All of her was beautiful, but the way her clothes fit her body always showcased her hourglass figure. And Alice always made sure that she had close-fitting jeans. And, though I don't think she realized it, she had a tendency to swing her hips just right whenever I was walking behind her or she was passing by me. With Edward around I had learned to keep my eyes averted, but after the first couple times, I just couldn't stop seeing her walk in front of me in my dreams.

She must have liked my hands' new home because she sighed and dug her nails in a little more.

When I opened my eyes, that knot of hair was in my face. I didn't want to stop touching her, so I slid my hands up her back- noticing that there were no bra straps- and her neck. When I reached her hair, I tugged gently on the band that held her hair up. Luckily, it came out easily and her hair cascaded down her back.

She sat back and looked at me questioningly.

"I like it better down," I whispered, staring at her lips. They were red and a little swollen from all the activity, but when she smiled I could see the tiredness there.

We'd both had a long day. Well, long afternoon and night. Glancing at another clock, I found that we'd actually been on this couch a lot longer than it felt.

I stroked her back and she fell into me, resting her head on my shoulder. Her breath caressed my skin in a happy sigh.

It was time to get a little sleep but I wasn't sure if we should start sleeping separately now that we knew our scents could comfort the other enough to keep the nightmares away.

Seeing what she would say, I said, "Ness, let me go get the extra bedroom set up so you can get some sleep."

Her response was immediate. Her arms wrapped around me tightly as she shook her head. "No, Jake. I'm staying with you. Remember that conversation we just had? We've been sleeping in the same bed for years. I'm not changing that. We're not doing anything wrong. If anything, we're finally doing it right. And we'd both stop each other if we got caught up in the wrong moment."

She was rambling so I stroked her hair and shushed her loudly. "Nessie, ok. I was just seeing if you'd react or not. I needed to know whether to carry you downstairs or if you'd be more comfortable somewhere else."

Leaning back to look at me, she kept stroking the skin of my shoulders, neck, and upper chest. "Jacob, I'm comfortable when I'm with you. And we've been sleeping apart for quite a few days." One hand came up to touch my face and I instinctively leaned in to it. "And I'm done being away from you. I'm your girlfriend now, so I get to be clingy."

I grinned at the girlfriend part. "And strangely, I don't mind a bit."

She grinned back, and scooted off my lap to her feet. Beautiful didn't even come close to describing her. With the fire behind her, it lit her bronze curls and framed her face. Those brown eyes were shining with joy, love, and surprisingly a burning lust. I'd dreamed of the day she looked at me that way, but it was so weird to find that that day had come.

Her eyes turned soft when she found me staring at her. With her legs, she nudged my knees apart so she could stand between them. That pull to be near her was stronger than ever. I leaned forward, placing my hands on her waist, and looked up at her. She stroked my hair and scratched my scalp with her nails. This was so perfect.

"Let's go to bed, Jake," she whispered as she leaned down to press the softest of kisses to my lips. Her hair fanned out to envelope us and the smell of mint flooded my senses.

I was surrounded, captured, by her and it was the most perfect moment.

Finally, _finally,_ it dawned on me that she was here with me. _With me_. The joy that I'd just seen in her eyes flooded me. She wanted to be here _with me_. I couldn't help myself. I started laughing. Though she didn't know what was up with me, she smiled and laughed a little, too. Surging forward, I slipped my arms under her butt and lifted her up. She squealed and gripped my shoulders. Her legs automatically came up to wrap around my waist. Her body against mine intensified the heat in the room by a lot.

Laughing out loud, I swung her around. Eventually, she threw her head back and laughed with me, her long hair flying out behind her. It was exactly like that night that I'd first come home after being away for five days. My laugh died down to a chuckle as I watched her.

Her throat was stretched out into one long, smooth line. On that day, I'd watched her, wanting to run my lips over her skin. And it occurred to me now that I could.

So, I did.

Leaning forward before she stopped laughing and looked at me, I pressed my lips firmly to her throat. Her nails dug into my shoulders and a sigh fell from her lips as her body shivered against mine. Tentatively, I brushed my lips back and forth over her skin. Those nails scratched up my neck to scrape my scalp and pulled me closer to her.

When her breasts pressed against my chest, I could feel the difference between her being crushed to me wearing a bra and not wearing one. She'd been wrong. She did have a noticeable physical reaction and it was currently pressed to my chest.

That was when my good sense kicked back in. I placed a butterfly kiss to her skin, and pulled back. "You have no idea how badly I've wanted to do that."

Her eyes were heavy-lidded and her breathing shallow as she looked at me. "You have no idea how badly _I've_ wanted you to do that."

"But I think we're done for tonight. We don't have to do all our exploring tonight."

She pressed her forehead to mine and nodded.

Though we were done with our intimacy for the night, I couldn't bring myself to put her down.

So I carried her to the master bedroom.

My eyes never left my soul mate's face.

**RPOV**

How Jacob made down the stairs was a mystery to me seeing as how his eyes had not once left mine the whole walk over here. But once we got to the bottom, his eyes flicked to the bed. I could see the thought in his mind two seconds before he took action.

One second I was in his arms. The next I was flying through the air before I landed on the bed and bounced.

"Jacob!" I managed to squeak out.

He chuckled as he crawled up beside me. Before I knew it, I was back in his arms, against his chest. The candles cast the softest glow and I was quickly pulled into the comfort of home and sleep. It had been days since Jacob's arms were around me, and I hadn't realized how exhausting it was to be on my own.

He made me complete. He was a part of who I was. If I hadn't grown up with him in my life, I'd have been a completely different person.

"Nessie?" his voice rumbled in his chest.

"Hmm?" I mumbled sleepily.

"You never answered me when I asked if you'd come alone."

I leaned back so I could at him. "Oh, I didn't come alone. I called Adam and Derek." Absently, my fingers found the marks that I'd left on his chest. "I figured you'd be angry with me if I hadn't thought responsibly about myself."

He sighed and kissed my hair. "I only get angry because I worry about you. Nessie, all this time, everything that I do is to keep you safe. Sure, I also take into account the families, but," he squeezed me, "you're the beginning of my new family. Don't get me wrong, I love Billy, Rachel, and all the rest, but if I lost you?" He shook his head. "I wouldn't survive that."

I pushed myself closer to him. "I wouldn't survive either. I wouldn't want to."

"Then let's make a promise to each other," he suggested. His hand had been doing circles on my waist and hip as he talked. But it seemed that his favorite place was my hip.

I reached up to trace his lips as he spoke. "Ok. What promise?"

"We promise, right here, right now, that should anything happen, we fight to get back to each other. No matter what."

His eyes were so intense and full of purpose that I nodded. "Ok."

"Say it. Promise me."

A promise just wasn't enough, so I said his favorite thing. "I swear."

He nodded, his hips rubbing against my fingers. "I swear it, too." He reached up to move my fingers so that he could lean down to kiss my lips. "Now go to sleep. You're exhausted."

I smiled sleepily. "So are you."

He kissed my forehead before I ducked back down to rest against his chest.

"I'm right behind you," he whispered.

This time when I dreamed, I remembered all of them.

The next morning, I woke up shivering, which was odd. I'd fallen asleep nice and warm. Reaching over, I found that the bed was empty. There was a thump and a curse from upstairs that told me Jacob was in the kitchen.

Speaking of Jacob, my dreams with him seemed to have a pattern to them. Though, last night's had been hotter and sweeter than all the others previous.

The first dream had been the wedding. Walking down the aisle with my dad, I'd known there were other people there, but the only face that mattered had been Jacob's. The look that my subconscious imagined on his face choked me up every damn time. And clearly my subconscious also knew him as well as I did. There had been no tie on him because the first few buttons on the white shirt had been undone. When Dad had put my hand in Jacob's, they'd shared a look, a nod, and a smile. And then, the weirdest thing happened.

My dream matched my views of a wedding. Ever since I'd learned and understood all about weddings through Aunt Alice, I always thought it was stupid that the bridal couple stood with their backs to the crowd. The guests weren't interested in their backs. They were there to watch your emotions and how happy you were. So, in my dream, the priest had stepped forward so that when Jake and I turned to him, we were facing all of the guests. But once the priest started talking, the dream had skipped, probably because my subconscious didn't know the vows. We'd probably write our own. It had skipped to the kiss, or how I imagined it.

If my wedding was anything how I imagined it, then I so couldn't wait.

I rolled over on the blankets, trying to warm up, and came nose to blanket with Jacob's scent. And that brought on the next dream, which had me warm up from the inside out and tighten my stomach so hard in a good way.

The hottest had happened right here in this bed. Dream-Jacob had been so sweet, passionate. But what had surprised me, even in my dream, was how dominant he had been, turning me where he wanted me, telling me what he wanted me to do. Back here in reality, I could still see and feel the intensity in his eyes, the firm yet gentleness in his hands. My body ached and burned with the heat. I so wanted that here, but Jake and I had both been right. We could still have some heat between us, but it didn't have to start boiling quite yet. Besides, we'd been wearing our wedding bands, so that right there told me that my first dream needed to happen before anything else.

But the last dream was my favorite. Jacob and I were here. I'd been in the kitchen watching Jacob. He's been on his stomach on top of a pink baby blanket leaning over a laughing baby and blowing raspberries on her tummy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the baby boy crawling on the floor toward his daddy. He placed a hand on Jacob's butt and pushed himself to a standing position. It took him a couple tries, but eventually the boy climbed up onto his daddy to sit on what he'd used to stand. The boy turned to grin at me in triumph. I'd laughed.

Jacob had looked over his shoulder at his son and grinned. Slowly so as not to throw the boy off, Jacob got on his hands and knees. The boy leaned forward to grab Jacob's shirt in his tiny hands while Jacob gently galloped around the couch, occasionally checking on his daughter. Once he made a few circuits, he galloped his way over to me. On all fours, he was still able to crane his neck up to press a kiss to my obviously swollen stomach. It seemed that three was our magic number.

The boy had reached for me, so I'd picked him up and swung him to my hip. Jacob had crawled back to the baby girl, swathed her in the blanket, and brought her over to us. One of Jacob's hands found my stomach as he leaned in to gently kiss my lips. The dream had ended with us staring at each other, two of our children laughing, and our unborn child safely between us.

Jacob's soft voice from upstairs had me shaking my head back into reality. We were a while off from that last one, but that was the one that I wanted the most. I wanted little pieces of me and Jacob running around, proof of our love for each other.

I sighed. At least we'd finally gotten the ball rolling though. I had to keep telling myself that we'd get there, that Jake and I would get that intimate eventually. It wasn't just going to happen overnight though.

The room was freezing, which had to mean that the power was still out. From here, I could see that there were candles flickering in the bathroom. With no windows down here, the only light came from those candles and the door at the top of the stairs. I rolled out of bed toward the bathroom, did my business, and grabbed a candle. The closet on the other side of the room was pitch black and scary as hell. The only reason I wasn't scared was that Jake was here. He'd never let anything down here that would hurt me. So, I walked into the closet to find a brown, knit button-up sweater with large buttons and pockets that fell down to the middle of my thighs. It was kind of like a house coat, but a lot more fashionable.

I made my way up the stairs quietly, following the sound of Jake's voice. When I got to the top and leaned on the frame, I found him in the kitchen, his cell phone between his ear and shoulder, and he was mixing something in a bowl. The smell and sound of bacon cooking had my stomach sitting up and begging.

Jake had his back to me so I doubt he knew I was there. "I know. With the way things are going, I need to come and get that…I know. Alice would kill me. She loves that thing. She said that it completes everything. Whatever that means….Yeah. I'll be down there. I don't know when, but I'll call…Ok. Bye, Dad."

"What was that all about?"

He turned around with a smile on his face. "Hey. Good morning. I expected you to sleep a little later."

I shrugged. "It was really cold down there." I'd been cold for a few nights recently, but one night back with Jake and I couldn't deal with it.

His face turned serious. "I'm sorry, Ness. I didn't think to start a fire down there. I should have."

I shook my head and walked into the room. "Nah. It's ok. I didn't need to sleep that long." And then a thought occurred to me. "Wait, how long have you been awake? _You _usually sleep in later than this." Glancing at the clock told me that it was ten in the morning. A record for the two of us.

He went back to mixing the eggs. "Only about an hour. Your dad called to tell me that he wasn't freaking out that he hadn't talked to his daughter in almost twenty-four hours because Seth had overheard her asking Adam and Derek to bring her up to the cabin Jake was staying in." He gave me a look.

I made a face at him. "Oops. But hey, there are so many pairs of supernatural hearing beings around me at all times that _some_one had to have heard me."

"Nessie."

I sighed. "Ok, ok. I'll call him later. Right now though, I am starving."

"Well, do you want to hunt now or wait until later today?"

I thought about that. "Wait. Let's eat this first. I've got to get back to Shelby."

"Why? What happened?"

That surprised me. I had forgotten that he'd been up here for days away from the action, and telling him about her had not been the first thing on my mind. And I was also surprised that Dad hadn't told him.

I went over to lean on the counter while he prepared breakfast, and sighed. "Well, apparently her dad wanted to treat her like a piñata."

"What?" he growled out.

I picked at the milk jug in front of me, my mind going back to that bruise on her face. "Yeah. He hit her and she wasn't going to say anything about it. Dad and Aunt Alice had been keeping an eye on it though. Mom and Dad went to get her. She's going to live with us until things get more serious with her and Seth."

He was quiet for a few moments. "How did they know to watch for it? I remember him mentioning something about it, but I didn't ask. And how did Seth react?"

When he started walking for the living room with the bowl of mixed eggs, I followed him and plopped down on the couch. He knelt down and started moving things around over the fire.

"My subconscious has an awesome memory because Dad had been messing around in my head while I was remembering going to check on her. She'd been looking at a picture of me and her from one of our shopping trips. Dad said that she'd had a bruise on her arm. I hadn't picked it up, but he had." I picked at a loose thread on the couch. "And Seth…well, he was furious. Dad had to watch to make sure that he didn't leave. He's going to be staying in the family house now, too."

Jacob scraped the food into one big pile on a plate and reached for the two forks he'd placed on the coffee table. Sitting down next to me, he placed the food in my lap and an arm around my shoulders.

"Of course he was pissed," he said, squirting ketchup on the eggs. "I would have done the same thing."

"Nuh-uh."

He looked at me, surprised and hurt. "Ness-,"

I put my fork over his lips to shush him. "You wouldn't have let anyone hurt me in the first place."

He smirked. "Damn straight." The smirk vanished as he thought about it. "But in all reality, Seth wouldn't have either if he'd known. If Edward had told him that they were keeping an eye on her and her dad, he'd have demanded she be removed from there immediately. That's what I would have done."

"That's true. And all that's important now is that she's away from her dad and safe."

He nodded. "Yeah. How bad was it, Nessie?'

I sighed and touched his neck, forcing the memory of her face to the surface. But what I had seen had been the beginning of the bruise. There was no telling what it looked like now, the day after.

Jacob snarled and growled. "That bastard. He better not come looking for her or he'll have a fight on his hands."

"No kidding. Seth would rip him apart. Literally."

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess we need to go back down today. You need to see her and I need to make sure Seth has pulled himself back together."

I grabbed his fork and the empty plate from him when he tried to take it to put it up. "Let me. You cooked. Let me clean them."

When he finally let go after a slight stare down, I hand washed and dried them.

"So who was that on the phone when I came in?" I said a little louder to be heard over the sound of the water.

"That was Billy," Jacob said from just behind me in a low voice. His hands snaked around my waist as he nuzzled my hair away from my neck. Pulling me back against him, I could feel his body's reaction through my pajama pants and the sweater as he ran his lips on the skin just under my jaw.

It took me two hard swallows and two more tries to ask, "And what did Billy want?" in a breathy voice.

"Just asking about Rachel's wedding," he breathed. My knees went weak, and he caught me. Turning me around, he picked me up by the waist and set me down on the counter, reaching around to turn off the water.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders to lightly scratch my nails across his neck as he stepped between my knees.

"Have I told you this morning that I love you?" When I shook my head, he licked his lips and said, "Hmmm, I'll have to fix that." He leaned in to me and ran his tongue over my lips followed by his own lips. "I love you, Nessie," he whispered.

I smiled as his lips came back to mine a couple times. "I love you, too, Jacob. Always."

"Mmm," he murmured, licking his lips. Then he grinned and looked at me suggestively. "Have any good dreams lately?"

That right there told me that he'd seen mine from last night. "Maybe," I said blushing.

He chuckled and kissed the tip of my nose. "It's ok. I loved them all, sweetie."

I stroked his neck. "You can call me baby now, Jake. I know you got mad at yourself that one time. It's ok."

"I called you babe, not baby."

I lightly smacked him. "You know what I mean. I mean, you don't have to, but if it comes to you, don't hesitate. I don't mind."

His grin was the most Jacob-y grin that I'd seen in a while. He kissed me fast and hard. "Ok. Now, why don't we get dressed and head down. I'm sure the Cullen house is a lot warmer than this place. It could take a while for the power to get back online here."

A half hour later, Jake and I were both dressed and had packed our things. I'd been surprised when he'd come out of the kitchen with a bag of rice that held pieces of my cell phone. He'd found it in my clothes from last night and had decided that it couldn't hurt to be cautious in dumping it in the rice to dry. He'd put out the fires while I went through and blew out the candles. We'd just finished pulling all the curtains and had met back at the front door.

As Jacob reached for my hand after locking the door, I realized that I was leaving this place a different person. A different woman.

Jacob's woman.

* * *

**As always, I love your reviews. Please review. They make me happy. :) xoxoxoxo**


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 already. Man, this is going faster than I thought it would. I thought that I'd just maybe get two before I was boo'd off the stage, but you guys are freaking ****_AWESOME_****. Seriously, your reviews keep me going. And I am just as excited to get to the end and find everything out as you guys are. Not to mention, some of you have been requesting a sequel and I'm not even done with this one! So, I've been thinking about it. If I can get this story to go where I want it, then a second one shouldn't be a problem. Keep your fingers crossed though!**

**The only think I own is Shelby. But she's awesome so it's ok.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Shelby POV**

_Damn, my face hurt_, I thought as I stared at my reflection. The bruise was deep blue and purple. He'd hit me harder than I originally thought.

"Hey," came a soft voice from the door. I looked over to find Seth leaning against the frame of the bathroom door. "You ok?"

I shook my head, making my hair fall in my face. It didn't fully cover the mark, but it hid it enough that I was ok with showing my face in public.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

He sighed and his eyes turned sad. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do we have to?" He'd asked me a couple times already, but my answer had been no then too.

He shook his head. "Nevermind."

"Seth-,"

"No. It's ok. You're not ready to talk about it. It's ok. Just know that I'm here when you are."

When he turned away, I broke. For the few weeks that we'd known each other, he'd been my rock, my foundation. He always listened to me, never judged me. But that's what I was scared of now. That he'd think I was weak for staying in a place that had been bad for me all this time. I was afraid that he would throw it in my face that all this time he'd done whatever possible to make me happy and had never given me reason not to trust him.

But when he turned away with that look on his face, I knew then and there that I'd been wrong.

"My mother left us when I was ten."

He stopped, back to me. "Shelby, you don't have to-,"

"I _need_ to." I went to him and turned him around. "Seth, it's not that I don't want to tell you. God knows that I need someone to talk to. I'm just scared."

"Of what?" he whispered.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I don't want you to think less of me or be disgusted with me."

His arms wrapped around me and hugged me to him. "Shelby, I love you. I know that we haven't known each other a month, but I love you. I really do. I would never think less of you. I just want to be there for you and I can't do that if I don't know what's going on."

I pulled my arms out from between us so that I could wrap them around his waist and stroke my hands up his back.

"I know. And, like you said, we haven't even known each other a month, but I care so much about you. I'm always scared that I'm going to say something that will end up making you not want to be with me. I never imagined that it could be this good."

He pulled me back a little so he could meet my eyes. "Listen to me. There is nothing you could say that would push me away. If anything, what you have to tell me about your life with your dad will make me want to never ever have you leave my sight again." He stroked my hair away from my face. He'd caught on to what I was doing when I'd shake my head and he hated it. "If I'd known what Edward had seen in Nessie's mind and he'd told me that they'd been watching out for you, I wouldn't have let you stay there another second. I would have come to get you myself long before this happened."

"I'm just messing up all the way around, huh?" a voice said behind me.

I turned to find Mr. Cullen standing there with a sad smile on his face.

"I'm so sorry to both of you. It seems that I'm saying that a lot lately. Seth is right, though. I should have told him, but I also should have pulled you out of there when I'd seen the bruise in her mind. It was unforgivable."

I smiled at him. "It's ok, Mr. C. We all go through rough patches." I squeezed Seth's waist. "What matters is that I'm here and my dad can't touch me."

Seth squeezed me back as Mr. Cullen nodded and said, "That's right. We won't let him near you." He stepped forward. "I told Nessie this yesterday, but you're like a daughter to me. Nessie loves you so much, and you've been so good to her. If anything happened to you, I'm sure the entire family would be crushed."

"Thank you," I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. My dad hadn't told me he loved me in years. Every time he'd looked at me in the past eight years, his eyes had been filled with hatred. Mr. Cullen hadn't said that he loved me, but knowing that he considered me a daughter and how much he loved his own, it meant the same to me.

"Shelby, I must admit that I was listening in on the two of you just now. And I want you to know that none of us could ever think less of you. You were brave for standing up to him when you did, and you stayed with him out of loyalty. Was it also unwise?" He shrugged. "Of course. He could have seriously hurt you. But let me tell you about the imprint, or what I've seen of it. When they imprint, everything they think about is a way to protect their mates. Seth's instinct now is to protect you. _You_ are his number one priority. And you always will be."

With that, he turned and went back down the stairs. I turned back to Seth, wiping the tears out of my eyes.

"So, as I was saying, my mother left us when I was ten."

He smiled and very gently stroked my bruised cheek.

"Go on."

**RPOV**

It took longer getting home than it had going up to the cabin. That was probably due to the fact that Jacob stopped us at least five times so the he could kiss me. He'd meant them to just be quick kisses, but as soon as I'd open my mouth to him, it turned into something else.

He was still picking leaves out of my hair from when I'd decided to start my own make-out session by tackling him to the ground. But it had turned out to be a session of us just staring at each other. We'd more than likely been thinking the same thing. That we were so lucky to have gotten where we were and to have each other the way we were meant to.

We walked through the front door hand in hand, fingers intertwined. The house smelled like steak and potatoes and was considerably warmer than the cabin had been. The first person I saw was my dad. He was sitting at the piano and had started up with my lullaby, announcing to the house that I was home.

I caught Jacob's eye and nodded toward my dad. He lifted my hand to his lips so that he could kiss my fingers. We shared a couple smile, and then he was off to raid the kitchen. Trust a werewolf to follow his nose.

I sat down next to Dad and rested my head on his shoulder. "Sorry I didn't call or tell you. I just really needed to get to Jake before I lost my nerve and good sense."

He leaned over to kiss the top of my head. "I understand, sweetie. Normally, I wouldn't have been so worried about it, but with the scares over the past month, I just don't like not knowing."

I sighed. I must have really had him and Momma worried. "Sorry. But Jake and I have talked about it. You're both right that I need to start worrying about myself, too. I made sure to call Derek and Adam. I won't risk leaving my family."

"Good. I love you."

I kissed his cheek. "I love you, too, Daddy. And you, too, Momma."

There was a relieved sigh from somewhere in the house. Kissing Dad again, I got up and went in search of Shelby. I found her cuddled up next to Seth, her head on his chest, and a small smile playing over her lips. They were watching Uncle Emmett and Aunt Alice destroy each other on one of our game systems. Kind of reminded me of me and Jake watching them.

When she saw me, her smile grew to a grin. "Ness! You're back."

The bruise had gotten a lot darker overnight, and I could tell that the skin was tight on that side because her smile was a little lopsided. Just thinking about someone hitting her made my stomach churn.

She got up and ran to me, hugging me tight. I stroked her hair. "I was only gone for a night, Shelbs. You ok?"

Her body trembled against mine. "Yeah, I'm ok." She leaned back and wiped her face. "I've just come to realize how much I love being here with your family." When I gave her a questioning look, she shrugged and changed the subject. "So, things went well with Jake, huh?" She leaned into me and whispered, "Did that red set come into play?"

The blush ran up into my face so fast I thought I would pass out. I really hoped Jacob hadn't heard. "Shelby!" I hissed.

She shrugged again. "I'll take that as a no."

I couldn't help but smile though. "Let's just say that even though the power was out, things never got colder than steamy."

There was an exasperated sigh from the piano room as Shelby grinned at me. And Jacob poked his head around the kitchen door frame, grinning.

"Hey, Ness?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." He said in the couple way. Even though they were the same words that we'd been saying to each other for years, they now meant something else, something more.

I grinned back. "I love you, too."

Shelby clapped and turned to Seth. "Awwww! They're _so_ cute!" She hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, and then ran for Jake.

He hugged her back hard and gave her a brotherly kiss on her good cheek. "Thanks, Shelby. I never thought we'd get here. But how are _you_ holding up?" He examined her cheek with a growl and a frown.

She kissed his cheek in return. "I'm better now."

"Well, if you ever need something, you say it. The pack will do anything to protect innocents, but the imprints?" He shook his head. "Nobody disrespects an imprint without risking the whole pack's vengeance."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. Though I think Seth can handle it, I'll keep it in mind."

Jacob hugged her one last time and let her go so she could curl up next to Seth again. The two guys bumped knuckles before Jake came to me, and wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed my back to his chest.

"You two have plans today?" he asked. When they shook their heads in unison, Jake said, "Well, I have to go down to the rez to see Billy. And we've gotta take the truck back down there. Wanna come with?"

"Sure. Ness and I need to meet up with Rachel anyway. She needs opinions."

Seth laughed and kissed her hair. "Yeah, Paul's probably going crazy. He might need us, Jake."

I felt Jacob chuckled against my back. "Well, here's the plan: we drop the girls off at Emily's, you and I go to my house, and then we get Paul and go to the shop. We probably have some serious work to do."

We all nodded. "Sounds like a plan," Shelby said getting off the couch. "Let me go get out of my pjs first though."

I unwound myself from Jacob and went for the bag that he'd dropped in the hallway. "Let me dump this stuff in my room and grab the keys to the truck." Standing on the tip of my toes, I kissed Jake on the cheek as I passed him. Though he tried to hide it by turning away, I saw the heat in his eyes as the brown became nearly black.

A tingle went through my body and I fought a shiver as I followed Shelby up the stairs. When we were out of sight of the boys, I gently grabbed her arm.

"Hey. Are you really ok?"

When she turned around, there were tears in her eyes. I pulled her into my arms. She was shorter than me, but I was tall for a girl. I was closer to my dad's height. And since I was made for Jacob, it wouldn't do well for me to be short since he was the tallest of the wolves.

Shelby's body trembled as she cried silently into my shoulder. I rubbed those useless circles on her back, made soothing noises, and rocked her. When I heard heavy footsteps on the stairs, I shook my head. They paused, and after a moment, turned back and grew faint.

"Nessie, why couldn't my dad love me the way yours loves you?"

I hugged her tighter as my eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Shelby."

After freshman year, I hadn't seen her until the middle of our senior year. I'd left her alone with that man. If I hadn't and we'd caught on earlier, she wouldn't have had to deal with that. Her suffering was partially my fault.

Her breath caught and held as if she were listening to something. With a shock, I realized that my shield was down. Now that I really didn't have to hide anything from Dad, I hadn't really thought about if it was up or not. Clearly it wasn't because Shelby had just seen what I had been thinking.

She shook her head frantically. "No, Nessie. It's not your fault. There was no way that you could have told me all this without Seth first tying me to your world. You had no choice. This was my fault. I should have blown the whistle for my dad to get help a long time ago." Her tears started back up. "I just didn't have anywhere to go, and I didn't want to leave Forks, or you."

She was human so I couldn't hug her any harder, or I'd break something. But I wanted to. "Well, you belong to us now. As far as I'm concerned, you're my sister. We get to be imprints together. Thank goodness I have someone to talk to about it. We can learn this together."

"I love you, Nessie," she whispered.

"I love you, too." I kissed her hair.

She squeezed me one last time and pulled back. "Ugh," she said, wiping under her eyes. "I must look disgusting."

There was a growl from downstairs. I laughed. "Nope. You look like someone who finally lifted an emotional burden." I nudged her with my shoulder. "I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind another daughter." I remembered what Dad had said about considering her a daughter.

A smiled pulled across her face. "Yeah, your dad said that."

I grinned. "Well, then, welcome to the Cullen family."

**JPOV**

Seth and I stood in the living room, our eyes toward the stairs, listening to the girls.

After they'd had their moment, I turned to Seth. "Hey, man. How you holding up?"

"How would you be holding up if you found out that Edward had been beating Nessie just because she reminded him of her mother?"

"Good point. I'd kill him." I made sure to say that just loud enough for Edward to hear. He let out a soft chuckle. I turned back to Seth. "Listen, man, if you need anything, let me know. If you need to take a few days off patrol to stay with her, I'll take your shifts."

"Thanks, but what about you and Ness? You just got together last night."

I nodded. "Yeah, but we're good. We're ok. Shelby needs you. Now that I know a little about her dad, she needs someone that she can depend on. She needs to know that that's you."

He held out his knuckles again. I pounded mine to his. "Thanks, Jake." He shook his head.

"What?"

"Girls can be as dense as guys. She thought that if I knew this stuff that I'd think less of her."

"Really?" He nodded. "Wow. How could anybody think less of her? She survived a tough situation. She's a fighter."

He nodded again. "I know." He turned to me. "Jake, I love her. Like I told her, it's only been a month since we met, but just the thought of anything happening to her makes me see red."

I clapped him on the shoulder. "I know, man. Trust me, I know."

Five minutes later, our girls came down the stairs arm in arm. Nessie threw the truck keys to me with a smile. I realized that the four of us made a family. Seth was like my brother, and Nessie and Shelby were tight as sisters. We were alpha couple and beta couple. Nessie had her back covered by Shelby, and mine was covered by Seth. Their backs were covered by us.

We were starting our own family. And it was about damn time.

**RPOV**

Jacob helped me, unnecessarily, into the passenger seat of the truck as Seth did the same with Shelby in the back. But I found out his reason for helping me: he'd wanted a kiss. Since the moment Shelby and I had come back downstairs, the boys had been acting weird. But it was a comfortable weird.

He'd taken my hand as soon as he was behind the wheel and had the engine started. Occasionally, he lifted my hand up to press a kiss to my fingers.

"Ok, you two," Shelby burst out. "What happened last night?"

"Shelby," Seth scolded with a laugh. And then it disappeared. "Seriously, guys, what happened?"

"Seth," Shelby said, mocking him.

"What? I wanna know!"

Jacob grinned at me and kissed my fingers again. "We got over our speedbump."

"Thank god. Tell me you guys made out a lot." I was about to scold her myself when she quickly hurried on. "And I'm asking for a reason. The sexual tension between you was killing me."

"Amen," Seth murmured.

"Hey," Jake said, chuckling. "Don't start that teaming up thing." He mock glared at them from the rearview mirror, and then looked at me. "But yes, we did make out. And it was rather fantastic."

Shelby kicked my seat. "I want details. Lots of them, right down to where hands were."

I choked on the breath I'd been taking. "Later, Shelby."

She huffed and crossed her arms.

Jacob glanced at me. "Is that really what girls talk about? Their guys?"

It was Shelby's turn to choke. "Are you kidding? Y'all's story is, like, the most romantic thing I've ever heard. Not to mention that the two of you are totally hot together. Don't look at me like that, Seth. It's true. They're completely gorgeous together. And it's cute to see that Jake has a weakness other than food, 'cause that boy can eat _a lot._"

Jacob chuckled again. "Well, please, Shelby. Tell me how you really feel about me."

"You're like a brother to me. And Nessie loves you. You make her happy. You guys being together has turned the two of you into the people you're supposed to be."

The truck went silent for a few moments as Jake and I stared at each other. And then my seat shook again.

"But seriously, I want details. It _had_ to have been hot even if you didn't get naked."

A burst of laughter escaped me as a look of shock crossed Jacob's features. "Do you really not have a censor?"

I saw her shrug in the sideview mirror. "I don't need to have one around the three of you. You guys know me."

We all agreed to that, and the rest of the trip was filled with jabs and innuendos. Shelby and I both kissed our men before we hopped out the truck and onto Emily's front lawn. Before they took off, Paul came out of the house, hopped in, and slammed the door. I heard two deep voices laugh as Jacob fired the truck up and they went back down the drive to head for the shop where they all worked.

I turned back around to find Emily inspecting Shelby's face. I was surprised that she hadn't pulled away and tried to cover the mark. But apparently, Emily's motherly instincts called to Shelby, seeing as how her mother had left a long time ago. She liked the feeling of someone worrying over her even though she'd never admit it.

After a small discussion, Emily looked at me. "Ness, are you-oh. Oh wow."

My smile slipped. "What?" Maybe it was one of those days that I actually did forget my pants. Looking down disproved that scenario though.

She shook her head. "Nothing. You just…look different."

Looking down at myself and my hands, I really couldn't see it. "Really?"

Shelby and Emily shared a look and then nodded at me in unison.

"Oh, yeah," Emily said. "Loving Jacob has made you beautiful."

"Even more than usual," Shelby added.

"He's made you glow."

I shook my head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Each girl took one of my arms and dragged me into the house. They stopped me at the first mirror we came to, and stepped away. I watched them curiously for a moment before turning to my reflection.

And I gasped. There was a soft glow to my skin that usually only showed up in the sunlight on the rare days that we got it. My lips were ruby red even though I hadn't made out with Jacob since this morning. The chocolate eyes staring back at me were dark and heavy-lidded, but bright at the same time. And I hadn't realized until now that I really hadn't had to mess with my hair today. I'd just woken up and ran a hand through it, but it looked damn good. Shiny, soft.

The girl in the mirror was, as Emily had said, beautiful. But that was me that I was thinking about. I knew that I considered myself pretty, but never beautiful. The girl staring back at me was full of confidence and exuded a sort of dominance that hadn't been there in the set of my shoulders a couple days ago.

But one thing was for sure, whoever this girl was, I liked her.

I liked her a lot.

* * *

**I seriously love Nessie, and the woman she's become. But like I said up top, please review. I love seeing how happy you guys are with this story. xoxoxoxoxo**


	21. Chapter 20

**Guess what? Chapter 20! Woo-hoo! Man, you guys are amazing. Many of you keep guessing what happens next or asking when other people are going to show up, and I love that. And by the time I read your reviews I already have everything typed in. It's almost like you guys can read my mind. Or I'm just that predictable. Whatever it is, people are still liking it, so I'm going with the flow.**

**Sadly, I still don't own it.**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

**JPOV**

I had to get away from her. Nessie was too addictive to me, so I'd made an escape plan. Luckily Rachel had needed them and my plan succeeded. While the mini vacation was both painful and then satisfying, I needed to get back to being alpha and provider. But as long as I was near Nessie, I was content to stay where I was. That was bad. I had responsibilities.

Our first stop was my house. There was something I needed to get from Billy just in case. Of course, it was a ways off, but I still needed it close to me.

When I pulled down the drive, there was another truck parked in the yard. It belonged to Seth's mom. And I could ninety-nine percent guarantee that Charlie Swann was with her. They had been married a couple years back in a small rez wedding, much to Alice's dismay. Sue had moved up to live with Charlie, saying that her late husband, Harry, would have wanted it because he would have wanted her to watch the game in comfort on the Charlie's flat screen. None of us had the heart to mention that the TV could be moved. She already knew that anyway.

"Hey, guys," Charlie welcomed us as we walked through the door. He came at me with his arms open. It was never a handshake with the two of us, always a hug. Everyone else got handshakes, even Seth.

Sue was the hug giver. "So where are the girls?" she asked, giving me a special grin.

It seemed that the fact that Nessie and I were now an item had spread like wildfire. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, to which she laughed.

"They're over at Sam's helping Rach with the wedding," I said as I received my hug from Sue.

"We were just wondering. Charlie and I haven't seen Nessie in a while." Though the past nine years had been hard on her since Harry's passing, she had aged well. It sat well on her.

I chuckled and blushed at the same time. "That's mostly my fault. Sorry."

Charlie hitched up his pants. "Well, then you better be taking good care of her if you're going to keep her away from seeing us."

I grinned at him. "I plan on it, but we'll get up to visit. We've just been having a few complications."

His face sobered up. "Anything too serious?"

I clapped him on the shoulder. "Nothing the police chief of Forks needs to worry about. Let us handle it, if you know what I mean."

"Right. Need to know."

"Yup." I turned to Billy. "Let's go get that thing that we talked about." Looking at Paul and Seth, I said, "I'll be just a sec. Then we can get to the shop."

I followed Billy down the hall to his room where he went to the closet. After he opened the doors, he pointed to the top shelf where a small white box sat no bigger than my palm. Smaller than that, even. "Grab that white box for me."

Reaching it easily, I brought it down for him, surprised by how light it was. Setting it in his lap, he took a deep breath and took off the lid. Inside laid a small, red, velvet ring box.

"I haven't taken it out of this box since Nessie was small."

Nervous, I shifted on my feet. "Dad, are you sure that you want me to have it?"

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Jacob, son, she wanted you to have it. Out of her three children, you were always the one that would inherit this. She'd made me promise." With a sad smile, he stroked the velvet. "We didn't even know for sure that you were going to be a boy, but she _knew_. She always said that her son would take it and put it one the finger of the love of his life, and it would fit."

"What?"

"Your mother was convinced that the woman who was meant to be with her only son would never have to get it fitted. It would just fit her perfectly."

"Was that how it was with mom?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Looking back on it, I never told the man I commissioned to make the ring what size she wore. He didn't even know who she was."

"Well, then, I really hope it fits Nessie. I don't want to prove mom wrong."

He smiled and handed me the box. Suddenly it was a thousand pounds heavier. "Don't worry, Jake. It'll fit her. She's perfect. And you imprinted on her. She's yours."

Slowly, I lifted the lid to see the ring that I hoped Nessie would accept from me when I eventually asked her to marry me. The ring that both of us had seen in her dreams.

Nestled in the black cushion, engraved with depictions of wolves, was my mother's wedding ring.

**RPOV**

"Nessie, you ok?" Emily asked.

I'd been zoning out, thinking about Jacob and everything that had happened in the last couple days. It was weird to know that my physical appearance was linked closely to my emotions.

I shook my head as if to clear it. "Yeah, I'm good."

She gave me a look and lowered her voice. "Do you need to go for another walk?"

I had just been thinking that same thing. "Would you mind?"

"Of course not." She stroked my hair. "You do what you need to, but this time, don't get lost."

I smiled back. "I'll try."

Rachel had wanted all the bridesmaids to match the groomsmen's red vests, but wear different styles. Emily already had hers picked out. Since Seth was going to be up there with Paul and the others, Shelby was now a bridesmaid. She'd helped me pick mine and was now working on hers. Aunt Alice was going to be happy because Rachel was going to ask her if she could make the dresses so that they'd fit each girl. They'd have to wait on Emily's though because her stomach was going to be expanding within the next few months.

Grabbing my coat, I went for the door. Jacob, Paul, and Seth would be gone for a few more hours. They loved working on cars and it always calmed them down. So I had time to have an hour to myself. And that was my time limit. I'd started wearing my watch again so that I could keep up with it. I made a promise to take care of myself that I had to keep.

I headed for the woods and made sure to only go so far in. Two more steps back and I could see the house. Dumping myself onto a log, I took a deep breath.

Really, I didn't know what was bothering me. I was with Jacob the way I was meant to, but there was a feeling growing in my gut. And it wasn't of the warm, fuzzy variety. Something wasn't right. There was an ache in my bones that had nothing to do with the change in weather. And all this had started inside with the girls. They were laughing and giggling and gossiping. It had all felt right, and then a terrible feeling had flooded me. I'd needed some air, and that's how I ended up out here.

There was a rustle behind me followed by an English accent that I knew well. "At least you're not crying this time 'round."

Caden gracefully jumped the log and sat beside me. The scent of the disease was strong in the wind, but for some reason it now always reminded me of him and not a pack of dangerous wolves.

I couldn't help but smile at him. Even before I met him, he'd done nothing but help me. And now, because of our talk, I was with Jacob and heading for a life with him.

"Hey, Caden."

"What's wrong, love?" He gave me a look that was similar to the one my dad and Uncle Jasper got when they were reading minds and emotions. He was paying attention to me. Except I could see his chest rise and fall with deep breaths, and his nostrils flared. I recognized that as him scenting me. Jacob did that sometimes. "You're worried or scared about something."

I sighed. "I don't know. It's just this feeling in my gut."

"Nothing happened with your male, did it?"

"Nothing bad." I couldn't meet his eyes, but I couldn't help but smile.

He chuckled. "Ah, so you didn't leave him alone for too long after our little chat."

I shook my head. "Nope. I went to him last night." So much had happened since yesterday that that thoroughly surprised me. It felt like I'd talked to Caden a week ago rather than two days ago.

I could see his smile out of the corner of my eye. "Last night, huh? A little alone time for the two of you?"

I playfully slapped his arm. "It wasn't like that. We talked and stuff."

"And stuff?" he insinuated.

I finally looked at him. "Stop," I said laughing. But the laugh died in my throat when my eyes found him. There were red welts all over his neck and the upper part of his chest that I could see. His arms were covered in healing wounds. And the scar on his face had been reopened.

I gasped. "Oh my god, Caden! What happened?"

He shrugged. "It's nothing. Pack politics."

"Are you serious? Our packs don't go after each other like that."

When I reached for the scar on his face, he gently held my hand away by my wrist. "Love, with my kind of werewolf, tempers run high. Your boys are family. We are not. Pack politics with us is kind of like a fight club."

Pulling my wrist from his grasp, I said, "I'm not quite sure what that means, but if a fight club is what I assume it is, then that's not my idea of a pack."

"Nor mine. But I had to join this one."

"Why?"

Instead of answering, he shook his head.

After a moment, he turned to me. "So, what are you so worried about? Tell me about this feeling of yours."

I really couldn't imagine why the hell he cared so much about me and my feelings and my relationship with Jacob. But I owed him for putting things in perspective for me.

"I don't know. It's weird. I know I should be happy, and I am. But my gut is telling me that all this isn't over…whatever that means."

He nodded. "Your boys have eased off on the defensive."

"What do you mean?"

"Their runs through the woods. They're comfortable again, not on high alert."

That made me nervous. And then I thought about it. Caden was sitting her with me, not far from Sam's house. I knew they'd lightened the patrols back to two a line instead of four to a line. But Caden was one of the other kind of werewolf, and he was _sitting right here_.

I swallowed hard. "Should they be on alert?" I asked scooting away from him.

He shook his head. "You don't have to be scared of me. I'm not going to hurt you. But this pause in action means Tristan is up to something, making new plans or setting up for them."

"You don't know?"

Again, the head shake. "No. I haven't seen the whole pack since about a week ago. Members intercept me and we fight, but I always end up escaping."

"Is that what happened to you?"

He nodded. "After I left and that female came to get you, I headed off one of my kind. We roughed it up a little, but I promise he's worse off than I am." He growled deep in his chest. "I hope that sent a message to Tristan."

We both looked out over the woods. "What the hell is going on? You didn't just join this pack with only one other wolf higher than you. What was the plan in coming here?"

He sighed. "Tell you what, love. See if you can talk your male into a meeting with me. I'll see what information I can dig up. All they told me when they recruited me was that we had a mission, and it would protect our kind and our families." He frowned when the word "family" had come out of his mouth, but I didn't question it. He was going to try to help us.

But before I tried to arrange for him to get near Jacob, I had to make sure. "So you it'll just be you? No double crossing us?"

He studied me for a moment, then held out his arms. "Do you really think that these came from me double crossing you?" He shook his head. "I had no idea that we were sent here to kill you until I learned that another pack was set up just like we were in South America. That was when I figured out that something was going down. Something that had to be done with precision. My suspicions were confirmed when I stopped Tristan from killing you and I got the shit beat out of me. I left the pack after that and have been trying to keep an eye on you. I won't let them kill an innocent."

That convinced me and made me smile. "You sound like Jacob."

"Then I shall take that as a compliment."

He paused and then suddenly stood up. "Well, I think it's time for you to go back now." He held his arms out as if wanting a hug, but he eyes kept scanning the woods.

Slowly, I stood up and stepped into his arms. His breath caressed my ear when he spoke. "When I let go of you, run. Don't stop until you get into that house. Do you understand?"

My blood ran cold. That meant that there was something here with us. I nodded and squeezed his waist hard once. "Be careful," I whispered.

He pushed me back by my shoulders, smiled, and nodded.

When he gave me a gentle push, I turned and ran. I tapped into that vampire speed and burst through the trees. There was a loud growl and a snap to my right that I dodged. If I had been a second slower my arm would have been ripped apart. The wolf had been so close that I'd felt its warm breath on the back of my hand as I darted away from it.

The one time I looked back was the one time I wished I hadn't. A wolf that I recognized as the one that had tried to kill me burst over the log and dug his claws into Caden's back.

"Run!" Caden screamed. He unhooked himself from those claws, turned, and punched the other wolf in the muzzle.

I ran fast and hard all the way to Sam's back door. When I burst through the door, the house went quiet.

"Nessie?" Shelby asked, staring at me. She was sitting on the floor between the couch and coffee table. "What's wrong?"

I ignored her. I knew that in order for Caden to get more info, he'd have to go into the lion's den, so to speak. He'd need to play off what just happened as him trying to get close to the enemy. Uncle Jasper had taught me some war strategies from his time being in the south. So I knew had to get the ball rolling on my end. "Emily, where's Sam?" I managed to huff out.

As soon as I asked, Sam came out of the kitchen wiping off a plate. "What's up, Ness?" When he saw me, he immediately put up the plate and put down the towel. Now he was on alert. "Nessie, what happened?" As he rushed closer to me, he slowed. Caden's smell was all over me. The stink was probably killing him.

I swallowed hard and relearned how to breathe. "Sam, the wolves need to double the lines again."

"What are you talking about?"

Another deep breath for me. "When I was in the woods just now, that stench came to me. I ran straight back here."

He nodded. "Ok, we need to call Jacob." He reached for his cell phone. "Thanks for telling me, Ness."

I nodded, but my eyes found the other girls. None of them had known about the threat in the woods. Well, Shelby had some idea because of Seth on high alert and multiple patrol shifts

"Nessie, what's going on?" Emily asked, her hand going to her stomach.

I shook my head. I didn't want to worry her into losing the baby, but she was going to be angry that we'd been keeping this from her.

"There's a new pack around, and they aren't the same type of werewolf."

"What?" she demanded outraged.

"Why weren't we told about this?" Rachel also demanded.

"Rach, Em, I'm sorry that we didn't tell you. Hell, I probably wouldn't know either if I hadn't been with Jake in that clearing."

"What clearing?" Shelby asked from the floor.

I told them about where this all started. The stench that Jacob and I had smelled and followed all the way to the clearing. The dead deer ripped to shreds. They all looked at each other worriedly. I went further to explain that the wolves had doubled their patrols when they realized the scent had been found in the woods surrounding the Cullen house and the rez.

It was Emily who decided not to be angry. She probably realized that were actually trying to protect them.

"Ok, so what? You smelled it again in the woods."

I nodded. "Yeah. After the packs and my family hadn't smelled it for while things went back to normal. But I think we got too comfortable. The threat was never taken care of. We should have stayed running patrols four to a line."

"Thanks for telling us, Ness."

I nodded. "Like I said, I'm sorry for not saying anything sooner."

They all shared looks and nodded. "We understand."

A moment later, Sam handed me the phone. "Jake wants to talk to you."

I took a deep breath, and took the phone. "Hey, Jake."

"Hey. Are you ok?"

His voice is what made me start shaking. If Caden hadn't been there, I'd be ripped apart right now. And I would never have gotten to tell Jacob that I loved him again. I'd have never seen him again. That more than anything made me realize how much I owed Caden.

I tried to keep the shakes out of my voice, but knowing Jake, he'd hear them. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just a little freaked out. I'd been hoping that all that crap was over."

"Yeah, me, too. Look, I'm on my way over there. Sam and I are calling a small pack meeting. They can tell the others what was said later."

"Ok, see you soon."

"I love you, Nessie."

"Love you, too, Jake."

It was a moment before the line was cut. I understood. I hadn't wanted to cut the call short either.

After a few minutes, the wolves started pouring into the house. Rachel, Emily, Shelby, and I went to cleaning up the wedding stuff. Rachel had the basics down, and I was trying to get her to go to Aunt Alice for all the bigger stuff and pulling it all together. She was tempted by the harder stuff getting done, but she also didn't want to put it all on someone else. I told her that Aunt Alice would love her for life should she be allowed to help. Aunt Alice loved doing the "hard stuff".

Our conversation was cut short when we heard the rumble of the truck on the dirt driveway.

**JPOV**

I'd been in the middle of an oil change when my phone had rung. But I hadn't bothered to clean myself up when Sam had told me what happened. I'd motioned to Paul and Seth to get their stuff.

On our way out, we said our apologies to Frank as we headed for the door. He'd tipped his hat.

"Don't be. I'll call Mark. You boys take care of whatever you need to." And then he was waving us off as he picked up the phone.

Frank wholly supported the pack, understanding that sometimes we had to leave for emergency reasons.

We all climbed into the truck and I tore out of the parking lot. Holding Nessie was the only thing on my mind as I sped through the rez. I hated the fact that she was scared. She'd tried to hide it on the phone but I noticed even the slightest change in her voice. Man, if those wolves had gotten to her, I would have never heard her voice again. With that thought, I pressed down on the gas pedal and skidded into Sam's driveway.

She was in the yard waiting for us, her arms wrapped around herself and her lip between her teeth. I threw the truck in park and jumped out. I barely had the door slammed before she rushed into my arms. Hugging her tight, I kissed her hair. It smelled like mint, her favorite shampoo.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

I felt her nod against my chest. "Yeah," she whispered. "It just freaked me out."

When I pulled her back to look at her to see if she was telling the truth, I smelled that stench. It was all over her. I hadn't smelled it with my nose pressed to her hair. God, for the smell to be this strong, they had to be close to her or there and gone just before her. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked up at me.

I stroked her cheek. "What is it? Are you ok?"

She closed her eyes and leaned into my hand. "I wasn't scared at first, but then I thought about it. I could have never seen you again."

Hugging her to me again, I stroked her hair. "It's ok. I'm just glad that you're ok." But I seriously needed to get her some fresh clothes. The stink was making my head hurt. I motioned to Sam. "Hey, I'm gonna take Nessie to my house to get some fresh clothes. That stench is all over her."

He nodded and ushered the rest into the house. They all fit inside this time because most of the others were on patrol. After I'd gotten off the phone with Sam, I'd called other wolves, telling them to start doubling and tripling the patrols.

A couple minutes later, Nessie and I were back in the truck. She'd taken my right arm to hug it to herself. One of her hands was intertwined with mine as the other wrapped around my arm. Her head was on my shoulder, and she kept rubbing her cheek against the fabric of my t-shirt.

"Ness, answer me truthfully. Are you ok?"

She squeezed my arm. "Jake, I'm fine. Like I said, just shaken up."

I shook my head. "I call bullshit. You haven't stopped touching me except for the time it took for me to get in the truck. Talk to me."

She pulled her lip between her teeth and thought. "At first, I was ok, all adrenaline. But as soon as I got back to Sam's house, it hit me how dangerous it was. It was so close to me. And then I thought about never seeing you again. That's what scared me. When I heard your voice on the phone is when it kicked in. Once I heard your voice, I knew I was safe."

My voice affected her as much as hers affected me. As soon as I'd heard her voice on the phone, I calmed down. I _had_ to know that she was ok.

"But, Jacob, I need to talk to you once I get cleaned up."

I squeezed her fingers. "You can talk to me now."

She shook her head. "No. I need to just be with you right now. We can talk about it on the way back to Sam's."

Her eyes had rolled up to look at me, pleading. I nodded after a moment. Leaning over, I pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Ok, sweetie. We'll talk on the way back. But I think you should get a shower. It might help you calm down a little."

"You'll stay in the house?" she asked.

"Of course. I won't go anywhere."

As soon as we pulled into the driveway, though, she was all smiles and jumping in her seat. Sue's truck was still here. She, Charlie and Billy had all come outside to sit on the porch. It was an abnormally warm day, which meant light jackets were all that was needed.

I chuckled as I put the truck in park and she raced out.

"Grandpa!" she squealed running into Charlie's arms.

"Ah! My girl," he said, swinging her around.

Before I jumped out of the truck, I checked to make sure that the console was closed. Didn't need Nessie seeing the ring box.

"Back so soon, Jake?" Billy asked.

I shrugged. "Gotta visit family, right?" Nessie was hugging Sue who had a strange look on her face. I shook my head a little to let her know to keep quiet until Nessie was in the shower. The girl was already scared to death. No need to talk about it in front of her until she was ready to tell me what she needed to.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Ness," Charlie said tugging on one of her curls.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry. There's just been so much going on."

"I understand." He hugged her again and glanced at me. There must have been an "I need to talk to you guys" look on my face because he nodded. "Hey, kiddo. Maybe we can visit another time. Sue and I were about to go grab some dinner and a movie. Date night and all."

Nessie nodded and kissed his cheek. "Sure. I'll come over as soon as I can. We can have a game night or something."

He grinned at her. "Sure thing, hun."

They said their goodbyes and soon Ness was in the house. Turning my listening ears on, I waited for the shower to turn on before I said anything.

"Jake, what's going on?" Sue asked. "She had a weird smell. Nothing like her normal one."

I nodded. "The other wolves are back. Nessie ran across their scent today in the woods. Scared the shit out of her." I glanced at Sue. "Sorry for the language."

"It's alright."

"Are they just passing through?"

I sighed. "We'd hoped so, but clearly not." I thought about Nessie being near one of them and a growl rose in my chest. "Dammit! I knew we shouldn't have backed off on patrols. I even said that they were probably making up a new plan after trying to kill her the first time didn't work."

"What?!" Charlie yelled.

Oops. I'd forgotten that Charlie didn't know that. "Yeah. That's the drama we've been dealing with. But she's ok. I promise. And I'm not letting anything happen to her."

Charlie studied me for a moment. "You love her, don't you?"

I nodded. "It's always meant to be us, and now there is an 'us'. I've got to keep her safe."

They all nodded as she stepped out of the house. Her bronze curls were braided and the rope fell over one of her shoulders. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and another one of my old hoodies, playing with the sleeves. The hoodie fell down to her knees. Suddenly, seeing her in my clothes turned me on so much that I felt like I'd been punched. She'd been wearing my old hoodies and t-shirts for years and it had always been cute, but now that I saw her as my woman, it was utterly sexy.

She smiled at everyone as she walked to my side and took my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine. I leaned over to kiss her still wet, mint-smelling hair. Her scent was back to its normal self. Sweet yet a little tangy.

"I thought you were leaving?" she asked Charlie.

Sue smiled at her. "We were. Jake just wanted to talk to us for a moment. He hasn't seen us in a while, either."

To my surprise, Nessie blushed. "Sorry."

Charlie hugged Sue around the waist. "Don't be. We know what it's like."

The four of us shared one of those couple smiles. Billy rolled his eyes.

"You're making me sick," he said, smiling and rolling himself back into the house.

We said our goodbyes to Charlie and Sue, and then hopped back into the truck. I waited to start out until Charlie and Sue left, waving as they went. Nessie was still playing with the sleeves of the hoodie.

"Nessie?"

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I wanted to talk to you in private first because I know you'll want to discuss this with the pack." She turned in the seat to look at me. "Jacob, I met Caden in the woods again. He found me. Apparently, he's been keeping an eye on me."

Well, I didn't know how to take that. Some strange guy that I've never met has been watching her. But on the other hand, he'd saved her life.

"Ok," I said, smoothing my hand over the steering wheel. "Why is he doing that?" There was no way to keep the jealousy out of my voice.

She smiled a little, and I wanted to believe it was that she thought it was cute that I was jealous. "He said that something big is happening. There are plans that he doesn't know about. When he was recruited to be in this pack, he was told that he was going to be on a mission that would protect his kind and their families. He doesn't know who's behind it or what the new plans are. He said that he knew for sure that something big was going on when he stopped Tristan from killing me at the same time they were killing Nahuel in South America, and Caden got beaten for it."

The look in her eyes was so fierce that it caught me off guard. She wanted to ask me something. It was there in the way she held herself, like she knew that she an important factor in what was happening and she had to have confidence in it to pull it off.

"What is it?" I asked.

"They've kept him out of the loop because they can't trust him. But with what happened today, he's hoping to get back on the inside."

"What _did_ happen today?"

She closed her eyes and breathed deep again. This was what scared her. "They'd snuck up on us. What you smelled was the hug Caden had given me so that he could tell me to run. When I did run, one of them almost grabbed me."

The snarl ripped through my chest so fast that even I was startled. Nessie shrank back into the seat, eyes still closed. She'd come _that_ close to being taken from me. That was unacceptable.

I was still growling when her hand stroked my cheek. "Jacob, I know you're angry and scared, too. But I'm ok. We need to concentrate on getting them out of Forks and the rez. What matters is that I'm here. I'm still here with you."

She crawled over the armrest to curl up in my lap. Her hand moved from my cheek to my neck and down to my chest.

"Jacob, he wants to meet with you."

"What?"

"Caden. He wants to meet you, come up with a plan as soon as he's back in with that pack."

I stroked my hands up her back. "Why does he want to help us so much?"

She shivered. "I think he doesn't have anybody to protect. There's always something sad in his eyes when he talks about protecting innocents and family. I think we give him a purpose right now. That's probably why he joined that pack to begin with. They'd said it was a mission to protect their kind."

"Well, that makes sense, I guess." Reaching around her, I turned the key and the truck rumbled to life. She had a good hold of my shirt. Moving her would be cruel, so I just moved the seat back a little more and reached around her to steer.

We drove in silence for a while until she said, "Jake, we need to call my family. They need to know what's going on. If whoever sent those wolves want me dead, who's to say that they won't the entire clan wiped out?"

I nodded. Telling Edward that his daughter almost got mauled and kidnapped in my territory was not a conversation that I wanted to have with him. He'd be as furious as I am about it.

When I finally got him on the phone and told him what was going down, Nessie was the only one to calm him down since the only thing we ended up doing was hurling curses and blame at each other. The Cullens were on their way down to be at the meeting.

Fun did not begin to describe what this meeting was going to be.

* * *

**So what do you guys think about Jacob and Caden meeting? Friends? Enemies? What about Jacob and Tristan? I sense EPIC. FIGHT. Hmmmm, we'll see. Please review. Seriously, you don't know how awesome it is to read those. And thank you for all the compliments. They are very much appreciated. xoxoxoxo**


	22. Author's Note 2

Please don't shoot me! No, this is not a new chapter. HOWEVER, I do need your input. I'm having a decision-making issue. Now, some of you are begging for more steam in the form of a lemon. Some of you are like, well, there should be more shyness between the two. So, yes I believe there should be steam. But a lemon? And then I don't want them to be too shy with each other. They've both been put through hell to become what they are and have grown up a lot. And I consider them both adults. Nessie knows what she wants. She wants Jacob, but Jacob is still coming to terms that she's in that headspace and actually wants him that way.

***deep breath*** So, what do you guys think? I could make it go either way.

The two questions(both are two-parted):

1) Lemon or no lemon? Why or why not?

2)More steaminess or keep it where I had it in the cabin scene? Why?

Thanks guys! I'm trying to get a new chapter to you, but since it's now Thanksgiving, I've got family stuff. So pleeeeeeeeeeease don't be mad at me. xoxoxoxoxo


	23. Chapter 21

**Hey, guys! Guess what? I'm back! I am so sorry for being gone so long. My computer died so I had to get my documents off of it and get situated on my mother's computer. But here I am! And here is Chapter 21!**

**Ok, first though, I want to say omg! All of you who reviewed with your opinions on the last author's note were all amazing. And then those who just stopped by to review a chapter or the story...just WOW. You guys actually made me cry. I could keep up with your reviews on my phone, so I did. I wish that I could have replied to all of you, but there's just so much that I would have wanted to say. Your support is astronomical and I just wanted to say a giant THANK YOU!**

**I own nothing.**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

As soon as we were through the door, Momma pulled me into her arms. I hugged her back hard. Dad had patted my hair and then gone to glare at Jacob. The house had gone silent as the wolves watched the silent confrontation apprehensively.

Jacob wasn't glaring. In fact, his eyes were on the floor, but his hands were clenched into fists. After a few moments, Dad's expression became less harsh. He was listening to Jacob's thoughts.

When Dad opened his mouth to say something, Jacob interrupted. "No need to tell me things I already know, Edward."

My family had come up to stand beside me and Momma, and I hugged them before going back to my mother's arms. I realized right then that I really didn't spend enough time with her nowadays. We should do more together. I squeezed her harder and rested my head on her shoulder, hiding in her hair like I did when I was small.

But I came back out when Jacob started talking. The authority in his voice pulled me toward him.

"We have a serious problem. Those other wolves are back. They got through our line. They've done it multiple times, and have tried to kill Nessie twice already."

There were low growls and snarls at that.

"You all know what she is to me and how unacceptable this is. We let down our vigilance when we stopped scenting that stench. It was a mistake. I nearly lost her today. From this day forward, I am Alpha of both packs." There was an audible gasp from the room, even from Momma. But he ignored it. "All of you are under my authority now. I want to know everything that happens on patrols. There will be three groups of two on each patrol line at all times. Nothing gets through our lines without us knowing about it. But there is one of them that needs to get through." He looked at me. "Can you show us what he looks like?"

For a moment I was stunned at his authority. I was seriously attracted to his dominance. My body warmed up at the thought that he was finally taking control. I loved it.

But I nodded. Letting down my block, I brought Caden's face to the front of my mind as well as his wolf form. Quickly, I showed Momma, and then went to Jacob so that he could see and then talk while I showed the rest. He growled a little. I knew he didn't like other males that he didn't know near me, even though he knew that Caden had brought me to my senses about my relationship with Jake. So, to calm him down a little, I went up on the tip of my toes and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth.

He squeezed my waist once and then gave me a little push into the room. One by one, I went to each of the wolves, showing them Caden, and I tried to remember his scent. Though that stench was there, he still had his own individual scent. It was a sour smell, kind of like a tart apple. As I was doing my task, Jacob kept talking.

"There will also be personal guards. Derek and Adam, the two of you will be with Nessie. When I'm not with her, you are. At all times." I looked over to see both wolves nod once, and then their eyes found me. I felt them all the way around the room. "Jason and Luke, you will stay here with Sam and Emily. Now that Sam isn't Alpha, he'll be here helping Emily. Christopher and Mark, you will be up in Forks with Charlie and Sue. Morgan, you'll stay with Claire."

"Who will stay with Shelby?" I asked. She'd gone to stand with Seth on the other side of the room. She met my eyes and nodded when our eyes met.

Jacob thought about it for a moment. "I gave Seth the week off for the special circumstances with Shelby. I'll be taking his shifts for this week. But after he gets back on patrols, Jordan, you'll be with her, though she now lives at the Cullen house. You cool with that?"

I found Jordan nodding. "Sure, I get along with them. I was one of those that didn't care either way."

Jake nodded. "Good."

"I have a question," Derek said.

"Shoot."

"Why is that one that Nessie showed us allowed through the line?"

All eyes turned to Jacob. I could see in his face that this was the hard topic for him. Many of them wouldn't like a wolf that they knew nothing about that close to their homes. But this was an executive decision that he had to make.

He took a deep breath. "Nessie has established a communication with him. He's the one that has saved her both times. Today, he definitely took her bullet. And he wants to meet with me. I at least owe him that for her life."

"Why does he want to meet with you?"

Jacob's eyes found mine. "Nessie? Please."

I sighed. Of course I'd have to say something. Jacob held his hand out to me, and I took it, stepping into his side.

"From what I've learned about this other type of werewolf, their packs aren't like ours. That smell that they give off is a disease. I think he said lycanthropy." I saw Carlisle nod out of the corner of my eye. "With all of you it's genetic. But they all were just human at some point, until they were infected. And they come from Europe. Apparently, their kind is being eradicated over there. This and one other pack was recruited to 'protect their kind and their families'." I took another deep breath. "The day they killed Nahuel was the first day that they'd tried to kill me, at the same time. But Caden protected me. He'd had a hunch of what was going on. They'd never told him the plan, so he took action in saving me. It also confirmed his suspicion."

"But how is he going to help us?" Adam asked.

"He's trying to get into the pack's good graces. I think he might try to tell them that he was getting cozy to the enemy, trying to get to me that way."

"What if that's what he's really trying to do?"

I shook my head. "No. My gut is telling me that he wants to help us. The way he talks about his pack leader? No way. He hates him. And they've been trying to get rid of Caden. Today, when I saw him, he was covered in scars, welts, and scratches. But he managed to get to second in command. He's a dominant male and he's been winning those fights. He's trying to help us."

"But why?" Jordan asked.

Jacob stepped forward. "He probably has his own reasons. Nessie pointed out that he'd told her that they'd recruited him to protect their species. That's what he thought he was doing. When he realized it was bigger than that, he stepped back and started trying to do the right thing by protecting an innocent woman. That sounds like something a dominant male would do, especially if he has morals."

There were nods all around the room.

"When might he show up?"

Jacob and I exchanged a look. He said, "We don't know. He has to reestablish himself into that pack. It could take a while. Days, weeks, months. Who knows?"

"It'll be longer than a few days. He's done a lot to show them that he doesn't approve of their actions, so now he's got to 'prove' to them that he's really been working us up, trying to get us comfy with him by getting to me."

"But, like I said, couldn't that be what he's _really _up to?" Derek said.

Jacob shrugged. "Sure, but Nessie's going with her gut. And I'm inclined to trust her seeing as how she's the only one who's met him. Just like our past battles, we're going in blind. And guts are always the best things to trust. It's her instinct that he can be trusted. So, for now, we wait for him to show up. If he does, you phase back immediately and call me. Howls are reserved for someone in trouble. Everything else gets a phone call."

The entire room nodded again. Jacob called an end to the meeting and everybody dispersed. Jacob had gone to talk to Sam and Dad, their heads put together. All the wolves assigned to guard left to take up their new posts. Leah had come in, finished with her patrol. My newly appointed guards met up with her to give her the information.

She nodded and then looked in Jacob's direction. "Hey, Jake," she called across the room.

When he turned, the room paused. "What's up, Leah?"

She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "I want to be with you when that meeting goes down."

"As do I," said another voice. I whipped around to see Aunt Rosalie make her way through the crowded living room.

Jacob's mouth opened in surprise, and then he glanced at me. I struggled to hide my grin.

"_You _want to be there?"

She nodded. "You'll need someone there to represent the Cullens. Nessie will be there, but more as your mate than one of us. She's alpha female to your alpha male. And he needs to understand the magnitude of what he's dealing with should he want to betray us."

"And what is he dealing with?"

She met his eyes, and then her eyes swept the room. "He's dealing with a family. A family made up of vampires and werewolves that will do anything to protect their families and homes."

The entire house stared at her. They all knew that she was against the wolves, especially Jake. But apparently my little shout-fest had gotten through to her.

Eventually, Jacob got over his shock. He nodded. "Ok, I could use the back up. I don't want too many people there. If he feels too threatened, he may clam up."

After a moment of staring at each other, they all three nodded in understanding. Jacob effectively dismissed everyone.

Momma hugged me to her again. I squeezed her back.

"Hey, guys," came a voice to my right.

As soon as I saw Shelby, the fear came flooding back. This was one more person that I could have never seen again. I launched myself into her arms. She was momentarily surprised, and then her hands came up to stroke my back.

"Shh, it's ok, buttercup. We're ok." She rocked me gently for a moment.

When I opened my eyes, I found Jake. I was automatically drawn to him. In that moment, I promised myself that I would make time to spend with my family and Shelby, but I _needed_ Jacob. He was my soul mate.

And it hit me hard again that I could have never seen him again. I would have never married the man I loved. We'd have never had little pieces of us running around, squealing in joy. I'd have broken my promise and left him here alone. That was unacceptable to me, and I needed to feel him in my arms.

Suddenly, Shelby's arms tightened before she pushed back with a gentle smile. I realized that I'd projected onto her. I'd always kept my ability in check around her. The first time she saw it, I expected her to be surprised, but she wasn't.

Instead, she gave me a gentle push in Jacob's direction. "Go. We'll all make some time later. You need him. And he needs you."

I was torn. But when Momma came up behind Shelby, putting a hand on her shoulder and nodding encouragingly, I started across the room.

I went to my soul mate.

**JPOV**

I could feel her in the room and it was distracting. Her heartbeat was just a tad faster than everybody else's, and my ears kept picking it up. It was getting louder. That meant she was getting closer.

Seth was just telling me that he'd take back his patrol shift for today and tomorrow so that I could have some time with Nessie when I felt a small hand wrap around mine, fingers intertwining with mine. Looking down, I caught her sheepish smile and her lip between her teeth. Instinctively, I leaned over to place a kiss to her forehead. She breathed a sigh of relief and pressed her head into my arm. I squeezed her fingers.

"Take her home, Jacob," Edward said softly. "It's been a long day for you both." He leaned in to kiss her forehead gently.

"You sure?" I asked.

He nodded. "We'll stay here and talk strategy."

She untangled herself from me just long enough to hug him tight and tell him that she loved him. He kissed her head again and said the same. Then, she was plastered to my arm and hand once more.

Five minutes later, we were making our way out the door with Derek and Adam close behind us. I helped Nessie into the truck as the other two wolves went for the woods. I'd give them a few minutes to get ahead of us so that they could clear the house.

I was starting up the truck to warm it up when I heard her crying start up. Instantly, my hand was back on hers.

"Nessie? You ok?" I asked softly. It was a stupid question. Clearly, she wasn't ok.

As predicted, she shook her head and crawled over the armrest. She curled up into my lap, pressed her face into my chest, and wept. It wasn't quiet and it wasn't graceful. I wished like hell that I could take this pain from her, but all I could do was wrap my arms around her and squeeze her to me.

After about five minutes, she quieted down. She hadn't gone to sleep, but her tears had stopped and her breathing was slowing down. The hiccup-y sobs were lessening. There was no way that I was going to be able to get her hands uncurled from my shirt so again, I left her in my lap and drove around her.

When we pulled into the drive, Derek was standing at the edge of the clearing, staring into the trees. Adam came out of the house just as I opened the door. I slid an arm under her knees and one across her back, lifting her out of the truck. She snaked her arms around my neck tightly.

"Hey, you guys think you could stay out here for a while? Let us have some time?"

Adam looked to Derek who nodded. Adam looked back to me. "Sure. Take care of her."

"I'll try."

I closed the front door with my foot and headed for the stairs. On the way up, I let go of her legs to hold her around the waist. Her legs came up to wrap around my waist while her face snuggled into my neck. Her bedroom door was open so I walked in. When I knelt down next to the bed, I sat her down at the same time so that I was kneeling between her legs. Her eyes wouldn't meet mine as her fingers went to play with the tail of her braid.

She was embarrassed about her break down. But she shouldn't have been. She'd deserved it after what al had happened over the last month or so.

Her teeth were tugging at her lip again. I reached up to rub my thumb over her lip so that she'd release it only to leave behind a black smudge on her white skin. Once I saw that one, I saw another on her temple and the side of her neck. Looking down at my hands and forearms, I found that I still hadn't washed up from being in the garage.

"I'll be right back."

She nodded, bringing a finger up to run across her lip where I had touched her. A small smile played over her lips as I got up and went for the bathroom.

A shower would keep me away from her for too long so I decided to just scrub really good with the bar of soap on the sink. When I was done, I wet a wash cloth so that I could get the smudges off her skin.

Walking back into the room, I'd expected her to have changed into her pajamas. Instead, she'd pushed herself up against the pillows, knees to her chest, and her finger running over the smudge on her lip still dressed in the hoodie. The hoodie was brown so I could see some dark spots on it. It must have been from when Seth had hugged her. He'd been covered in oil.

"Hey," I said so that I wouldn't scare her. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

Sure enough she looked up in surprised. "Hey, Jake."

I sat down on the side of the bed, towel in my hand. "You better now?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry for that."

"Stop." I shook my head. "Nessie, you had every right to have a meltdown. I'm actually surprised that you hadn't before when that wolf went after you the first time." I scooted closer to her so that I could reach the far side of her face and neck with the washcloth.

She shivered from the cold but leaned into my hand. I reached for the hoodie. "Here, let's get this off. It's covered in grease."

Her hands fluttered over mine as I started to pull it up. "Jake, don't-,"

"Nessie, please, let me take care of you. It's what you would do for me."

She studied me for a moment. Then she nodded and held her hands up. I pilled the hoodie up over her head, making sure that I didn't get in caught in her hair and on her face. But the hole was stretched from my giant head, so she was ok.

It wasn't until I had thrown it on the floor in the corner and looked back at her that I realized she was wearing only a tank underneath. Nothing else. No other straps showed. I felt the flush wash up my neck and into my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Ness."

When I tried to turn away, she caught my face in her hands. "I did try to tell you, Jake. But you do realize that it's ok to be attracted to me, right?"

Swallowing hard, I nodded. My eyes kept drifting down. She'd always worn shirts with high necklines to sleep in. I'd never seen her like this before. And the feeling that came with it scared me. It was heat so warm that I thought my brain might actually burst from fever. My skin felt a lot hotter where she touched me. Just above where her breasts started sloping out, there were black smudges from where the grease and oil had bled through the hoodie.

With a shaky hand, I brought the washcloth up to wipe the black away from her perfect skin. My hands had really never been this close to the skin of her chest. She was still warm. That warmth heated my blood even more.

When she was satisfied that she was clean, she took the towel from me and wiped at my neck just under my jaw. My eyes flitted down again as she leaned into me. I'd always recognized that she had an hourglass figure, but I'd never thought about the specifics. Now, one half of her hourglass curves swayed toward me. I wasn't sure if it was the tightness of the undershirt giving her lift or if it was just natural, but the fabric seemed to offer her up to my eyes.

Her lips were so close and I hadn't properly kissed her since earlier in the day. I wasn't sure that now would be the best time, but now was when it dawned on me that this wouldn't be happening right now if she'd been slower, if Caden hadn't been there to save her again. I needed to kiss her, but first I needed her to be ok with it.

"Nessie?" I whispered.

"Hmmm?" she murmured back.

I swallowed hard. "Can I kiss you?"

She stopped her scrubbing at my neck and stared at me. "Jake, you don't have to ask. I'm yours. Always."

That was all the permission I needed. I tackled her so fast and hard against the pillows that she would have made a surprised sound had my lips not been crushing hers into silence. After a moment of surprised tensing up, her body relaxed into mine hesitantly.

Her legs spread out so that I could lie between them and on top of her. She tentatively reached down to tug my shirt over my head. I braced my arms on either side of her waist as she threw my shirt over to land next to the hoodie. Those small hands suddenly gripped my face hard to hers. And I felt the physical reaction that she had rub against my bare chest. It made me shiver and kiss her harder at the same time.

After a few frantic moments, we slowed down. She sank lower on the pillows so that she was lying more on the bed underneath me. One of my hands mutinously gripped her waist, begging for my brain's permission to move up. But I knew that if I touched what had been revealed to my eyes, I'd lose control. Where we were at was just fine. I could handle this, but touching areas that had yet to be roamed? That was a bad idea right now when we were so caught up. But what was happening right now was perfect.

Until she rolled us in a burst of strength. Her hands ended up on either side of my head and her legs stretched over my hips. This was dangerous territory, but when her jeans rubbed against the front of my hips, my brain went out for lunch.

My hands came up to grip her waist hard. She moaned into my mouth as my tongue darted into hers. Since I was supporting her by her waist, her hands moved to the hem of my shirt. Her hands caressed the skin of my stomach and the muscles there and moved up. It was when she moved her hips over mine that I growled. The wolf in me was dangerously close. Her scent flared up around us, but I knew it could be stronger if her hair was down.

My hands left her waist, causing her to put her weight onto my chest as I reached for her braid, pulled out the hair tie, and began unraveling the rope. When I was finally finished, her hair fanned out around us and my senses went crazy.

But it was as her lips moved down my neck and to my chest that her hands also moved _down_ my stomach. Her fingers brushed the waistband of my sweats and my brain swam back up from the sea of lust that it had been drowning in.

I managed to grip her wrists. "Nessie, stop. Stop," I choked out.

She sat back so fast, ripping her hands out of mine. "Oh my god, did I hurt you?"

Luckily her butt ended up on my thighs or the answer to that question might have been yes. As it was, I shook my head.

"No, but we have to stop."

Her look of fear was replaced by confusion and hurt. "But why? You want this. I want this."

She scooted back to sit lower on my thighs as I sat up against the pillows. I gripped her arms to unfold them from her stomach so that I could hold her hands. She was too well endowed to cross them over her chest. It was strange that I hadn't realized that until now.

I pried her fingers open so that I could press her palm to my face. "Yes, I do want this. But _at the right time._"

"What do you mean?"

I sighed. "I love you, and I want to be with you like that. But right now, you're scared. You want comfort, to get lost in something." My hands gripped her waist. "However, I need to do right by you. And this isn't right to take advantage of you when you're vulnerable." Gripping her waist, I pulled her a little closer up my thighs as I sat up. "I don't want you to be angry with me. Maybe, I'm just not ready for this."

The look of hurt vanished, replaced by one of contemplation. "I never thought of it that way."

I stroked her now loose hair from her face. "Nessie, I may be a twenty-five year old man, but I've been stuck in a teenage mentality for so long because I was waiting on you. But when you caught up with me, I didn't move forward with you. This scares me." She leaned into me, wrapping her arms loosely around my neck. "I've always been the type of guy that wasn't just about sex. Hell, I was really never about sex. I was more about protecting, and I still am. You're not the only one who's a virgin with their hormones raging. My wolf self is dying to be truly mated."

"So…you want to get married?"

The question caught me off guard. But of course it was going to come up what with us all hot and heavy.

I nodded anyway. "Well, yeah, eventually. I know your parents would appreciate it."

She laughed. "Of course they would." She stroked my face. "But, just so you know, those values aren't mine. I understand where you and they are coming from, but I love you. I know that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that." She lifted her leg and swung off my lap to kneel on the bed. "But ok, Jake. I'll respect your wishes." Leaning forward, she kissed my lips chastely. "I'll be right back."

Watching her in amusement and love, she darted into the closet, came out with a pile of clothes, and went into the bathroom. A few moments later, she came back dressed in a pair of black and purple flannel pajama pants and another of my old long sleeve t-shirts.

"Better?" she asked as she lifted her arms and spun around.

I shook my head. "No, not really." When her face fell, I hurried on. "But easier."

When she caught my meaning, her face broke into a grin and she hopped back onto the bed, snuggling into my side.

A thought occurred to me. "So," I said, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "Why is Rosalie suddenly being nice to me?"

I could literally feel her blush rise in her cheeks against the skin of my side. "I maybe kind of yelled at her for talking bad about you."

"What?"

She shrugged. "I told her that if she didn't start accepting and respecting you around the house for all that you've done for our family that I'd pick you over her and never speak to her again until she changed her act."

I looked down at her in surprise. "You'd pick me over your family?"

She squeezed my waist. "Jacob, _you_ are my family. My future family. I've had years with them just as they are. But I'm just now getting you like this. I just want everyone to get along so I said a few words that I knew would hit home for her. But I also think that Uncle Emmett had a hand in it, too."

I let what she said sink in, and realized that I could actually love her more than I had before.

Squeezing her to me, I whispered, "Thank you," into her hair.

She tightened her grip on me and snuggled her face into my ribs. "You deserve to be defended, too. I couldn't just let her talk bad about you behind your back while I was there. When she insulted you, she insulted my future with you."

"God, I love you." Pulling her as close as I could, I put my nose into her hair and realized that she was my home. She was my missing puzzle piece. Now that she'd clicked into my life the way she was supposed to, everything was coming together. And I hadn't realized how much Rosalie's dislike of me had affected me.

"I love you, too, Jacob," she whispered as she started to drift off to sleep. "I'll always fight for you."

And then she was out. I followed not long after with my defender tucked into my side.

* * *

**So how's that for steam? Like it? No? Let me know. As I mentioned before, your reviews mean the world to me. xoxoxoxoxo**


	24. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22! Ok, so I know I said I liked your reviews, but some of you have been getting a little nasty that I didn't make the last chapter a lemon. I'm sorry to tell you that this "book" probably won't have a lemon at all. So if that's what you're after either stop reading this or ask me for a one-shot. I know I told some of you that I'd write one, but I haven't gotten any responses on if you'd like me to or not. This is my story, so please don't get testy with me on what I choose to put in it. The relationship between them is too new, and I want a certain thing to happen between them before a lemon happens.**

**So as for this chapter, it's a sweet one. No steam though, because this is a personal, private moment of Jacob's pain and loss. It's a peak into his past.**

**Again, I own nothing.**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

I woke to the sound of curtains being pulled back on their rod and sunlight bursting into the room. I groaned and shoved my face under my pillow. Then came the sound of silverware clinking around. Aunt Alice was prone to have days where she liked to come in and mess around.

"Aunt Alice, this better not be about another shopping trip," I grumbled.

There was a low chuckle near my closet. "Well, luckily I don't need a new pair of heels," Jacob's voice said.

Slowly, I came out of my pillow cave to a wash of sunshine. Blinking quickly, my eyes took a second to adjust, but once they did, I found that Jacob had moved to my dresser. His back was to me as he moved around, clinking things around. I even thought I heard him whistling. Had I woken up in an alternate universe?

Combing my hair into submission, I said, "Jake, what are you doing?"

He took a second to answer. "I," he said and turned around with a tray in his hands. "Am trying to get you in the mood to say yes to go on a first date with me."

I sat up so that he could put the tray across my legs. Sitting on it was a plate of French toast with blackberries and whipped cream. Bacon and scrambled eggs were on the side with a small container of ketchup.

Breakfast in bed. And all of a sudden I was ravenous.

"Did you cook this?" I asked, picking up the fork.

He shook his head. "Nah, you know I can't cook. Esme whipped it up for me."

Well, it didn't matter that he hadn't cooked it. All that mattered was that he'd thought about it. I dug in.

"So," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "You never answered my question."

I grinned around a mouthful of eggs and swallowed. "You never asked me one."

He grinned back. "Would you please go on a first date with me, Renesmee Cullen?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Of course. Where are we going?"

Shaking his head, he took the bite of French toast that I offered on my fork. After he swallowed, he said, "I can't tell you. But it's a special place for me."

"Ok, when are we going?"

"As soon as you finish breakfast and get dressed." He leaned in to kiss my forehead. "It's supposed to be warm today. Alice wanted me to let you know that."

I inhaled my food. Once I was done, Jacob licked my plate clean while I darted around the room, getting clothes together. Hmmm, Aunt Alice said it was supposed to be warm, and at that moment, something white in my closet caught my attention. It took me a moment to realize that it was a sundress. Grinning to myself, I plucked it off the hanger. On my way out the door, I pressed a kiss to Jacob's lips and then hurried into the shower.

Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of Jacob in my white sundress. The top part of my hair was pulled back into a clip, leaving the rest to hang down my back and dry. Jacob had changed into a pair of holey jeans and a black ribbed tank. He looked utterly delicious and seeing him like that took me back to last night.

His muscles had been hard yet supple under my fingers. That tan skin was smooth and solid and warm. The best feeling, though, had been that of our abandonment. Our breathing had been hard and fast. His weight on top of me had made my body flush with heat. There had been a wonderful tingling in my breasts when they'd pressed to his chest. The only thing that had been between our skin had been my own girl version of his ribbed tank. The way his eyes had traced the top swells of my breasts, I'd felt something tighten from the heat I found there.

"Ness? You ok?"

His voice shook me out of the memory. When I met his eyes, I found an answering lust there. He'd known what I'd been thinking about as I stared at him. I glanced inside my head to check my own mental block. It was still up so I hadn't projected on to him. He must have been reading the emotions on my face.

He stepped into me, placing a hand on my cheek. "It'll happen eventually, Nessie. We'll get there when we're both ready to take it that far."

I leaned into his hand with a sigh. "I know. I was just remembering last night and how lost we got in each other. Do you think that's how Mom and Dad feel about each other? Do you think their love is the same?"

His thumb came down to stroke my bottom lip as he thought about it. After a moment, he nodded. "I'm fairly certain that had your dad been what I am, he'd have imprinted on your mom. They were always meant to be together. I just didn't realize it until you were born."

I gripped his wrist and rubbed my thumb over the vein there. "Because you didn't know I was coming for you."

He stepped closer to me, the heat in his eyes drifting into love. "No, I didn't. But I'm very happy that you came to save me."

My other hand drifted up to trace his lips. "Jacob, we save each other. Every day."

As he leaned in, I went up on the tip of my toes so that we could press our lips chastely to the other's. His arms snaked around my waist to hold me against his body.

"Come on. I really want to show you this."

Breaking away from each other, his hand slid down my arm to grip my fingers. I let him lead me downstairs. As predicted we didn't make it out of the house without being intercepted. Momma pulled me into her arms but not before I caught Dad's raised eyebrow in Jacob's direction.

"Momma?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"I was thinking maybe you, me, Shelby, Aunt Alice, and Aunt Rose could all go shopping sometime soon. Shelby could use some new clothes that weren't purchased online. And I'm sure that she'd like to decorate her room."

Momma pulled back to smile at me. Shelby came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.

"I'd love some normal clothes." She blushed. Of course she was thinking that she wouldn't be using her money. "That is, if you don't mind."

From the living room, there was a loud 'humph'. Aunt Alice had a lot of tendencies. She liked to buy high end items, but sometimes they just weren't comfy. Shelby was used to soft, worn in clothes.

"Of course we don't mind, Shelby. You're family now. We take care of our own." Momma turned to me. "We'll make plans to go into Seattle when you get back, ok?"

I kissed her on the cheek and then went to hug Shelby. I caught Jacob and Dad staring at each other. Dad was glaring at Jake before Jake shook his head. Dad's face visibly relaxed. And then I watched a small grin stretch Jacob's lips and Dad's face puckered up. Suppressing a giggle, I squeezed Shelby.

"We'll go shopping and get you things you need, ok?"

She nodded. "Thanks, Ness. Your family is great."

"Yeah, I know. They always have been."

"Come on, Ness. Before your dad murders me."

Dad grumbled to himself, but I swear I heard, "I'm sorely tempted."

Laughing, I went to Dad. I hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "It's ok, Dad. Jacob has been perfect."

"I think our definitions of perfect are on opposing sides," he said, kissing my temple.

"Well, he's perfect to me."

Dad sighed. I felt the movement in his body. "Go. Have a good time with your Mr. Perfect."

I stepped back next to Jake and his hand wrapped around mine as he leaned over to kiss my hair.

"Jake, Adam and I are gonna go on ahead of you," Derek said from the doorway. When Jacob nodded in return, he ducked out and raced off.

"I thought they were only supposed to be with me when you weren't?" I asked as Jacob helped me into the truck.

He shut my door and got in on his side before answering. "Clearly, they're taking their job more seriously than I'd expected. But in all reality, I can see why."

When it didn't look like he was going to explain further, I poked his arm. "And?"

He sighed as he started up the truck. "Ok, well, in the pack world, in my world, they consider you my mate. It doesn't matter that we aren't married or that we haven't…uh, danced horizontally." I blushed furiously as that image hit me. Pulling my hair around me, I covered my face. "It's like Rosalie said last night. When that meeting happens, you'll be there more as my alpha female than a Cullen. That's what you are to the pack. When Sam was Alpha, they looked to Emily for female guidance. Now, they're going to look at you that way, and do whatever it takes to protect you. The pack knows that you are my life, and if something happens to you, it'll destroy me."

I thought about that for a long moment. At the meeting last night, they'd become aggressive when he'd told them that I'd almost been killed twice. They hadn't liked that idea at all. It made me smile to think that they thought of me as one of them.

But something about what he'd just said bothered me. "Don't _you_ consider me your mate? You kept saying 'they'."

He reached over to take my hand. "Of course I do. You _are_ my mate. It's just that for so long you were just my friend, my best friend. And now," he kissed my fingers. "We're so much more. That's why I want to take you where I'm taking you."

The rest of the trip was made in comfortable silence. Every now and then he'd bring my fingers to his lips and keep them there for a minute. He drove us a little north of the rez and eventually took the truck onto a dirt road.

Some of the trees were turning colors. It was a couple weeks to Halloween and the woods were taking on the characteristics of autumn. Today was probably the only warm day we were going to get until April. More snow storms were likely to come and go. The animals were scurrying around, gathering food or finding their hibernation holes that they would burrow into until spring.

"We're here," he said as he brought the truck to a stop. We'd had to stop because there was a tree blocking the path.

"Um, where are we?" I asked.

He chuckled as he got out of the truck. I was tired of having to sit there to wait on him to open my door so before he could make it around the truck, I hopped out, smoothing my skirt. He had an exasperated look on his face as I met him at the front of the truck.

Instead of taking my hand, he gripped me around the waist and lifted me onto the log. Leaping over it and to the other side, he reached for my waist again. I placed my hands on his shoulders as he brought me down.

There was a large, excited, Jacob-y grin on his face as he took my hand and started dragging me down the path. "Come on."

He stopped us at the edge of the woods, stepped behind me, and covered my eyes with his large hands. He brought his knee into mine to get it to bend. I felt the toe of his shoe nudge under my heel. Catching on, I lifted my other foot so that he could slide his other foot under mine.

Laughing when he started walking, I gripped his wrists for balance. We only walked for about a minute before he stopped and slipped his feet out from under mine. He turned me a little to the right.

"Easy. Careful, don't step forward." Slowly, he slipped his hands away from my eyes and wrapped his fingers around mine.

When I opened my eyes, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. But when they did, the ocean stretched out before me. The sun had peeked out from the clouds to sparkle radiantly over the water, making it blue rather than the murky brown that it usually was when the weather was overcast. Below me, I could hear the water crash against the cliff. The breeze smelled of salt and it swept my hair around us.

"Jacob," I breathed.

He moved his arms down to wrap around my waist and laid his head on my shoulder.

"You like it?"

"It's beautiful."

Of course, I'd seen this cliff so many times from a distance on the rez, but I hadn't ever come up here. Jake had told me that they used to jump off the cliffs for fun.

We stood there for a long time, just staring out at the water. Jacob's arms were warm against the breeze drifting up to us. I rubbed his arms where they held me while he rocked me.

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is this place so special for you? I mean, it's beautiful."

He rocked me for a moment more before he backed up. I was surprised when he let me go to walk around me and stand at the cliff's edge. I wrapped my hair around me for warmth from the breeze now that he was no longer holding me.

He stood there, watching the water for about five minutes before he answered me. "When I was little, I can remember my mother bringing me out here. I was just old enough to remember. Of course, she probably brought Rachel and Rebecca, too. But it was always just the two of us. She would spread out a blanket and wrap her arms around me. We'd sit out here for hours. She'd tell me stories about her and Billy, and how much they loved each other and us kids." I could hear him swallow hard as he remembered his lost mother.

I was about to say something to him or go to him, whatever would wipe that look off his face. But before I could, the look changed into a soft smile and he continued.

"But there's one other reason that this place is so special."

"What is it?" I asked, hugging myself.

He turned to me with a grin. "You." When I gave him a confused look, he said, "I brought you out here once, against Edward's wishes. He didn't want you to take off over the cliff."

I was nodding. "Ok, but you take me a lot of places."

"Yeah, that's true. But this was the very first place that you told me you loved me and actually knew what you were talking about." He looked back out over the water. "I'd been holding you, and you'd turned to me. You said, 'Jacob, I love you very much,' and gave me such an intense look that I knew that you knew you weren't just saying it because it's what you always said. You said it because that's what you were feeling deep down."

And I understood. The two women that he'd loved the most had been here with him and had told him they loved him. His mother and his soul mate.

The two women who most affected his life, his future.

**JPOV**

Nessie stayed silent. I'd never shared anything about my mother with her, or anybody, for that matter. The memory of her was just too painful. I'd never gotten to know her the way my two sisters had. But I definitely remembered the days spent here.

While I was stuck in my own head, Nessie had come up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I felt her cheek rest against my back.

"This _is_ a special place, Jacob. Thank you for sharing it with me," she whispered. The warmth of her melted into me. And then she asked me a question that I had and hadn't been expecting. "What happened to her?"

That made me swallow hard. I had to clear my throat a couple times. "Uh-um, she was in a car accident. Somebody ran a stop sign going eighty in a forty. They'd t-boned her on the driver's side. Billy only got a few seconds with her when he arrived on the scene. She died before they could get her out of the car because it was so mangled."

Without my permission, my eyes watered up. Billy had left me with Rebecca and Rachel when he got the call that night.

Nessie's hands gently turned me around. Her eyes were tear-filled, too, but she swallowed hard and kept her eyes wide so that the tears wouldn't fall. She wrapped herself around my waist, pressing her cheek to my chest.

"I'm so sorry, Jacob."

I wrapped my arms around her and held her as tight as I dared. The smell of mint from her hair comforted me, letting me know that she was really here with me, really a part of my life. She was the one woman that I loved more than my mother. If I lost her, I wouldn't be able to function. My whole world had crumbled when I'd been told that mommy wasn't coming home. I'd still had a parent though. But if I lost Nessie? Not even Bella would keep me sane. I'd be drowned in the need for vengeance. And once I got my revenge? There would be no purpose for me. I'd run into the woods and disappear just as our past wolf leader had when the Third Wife had died to protect the tribe. I'd become useless to everybody.

Right then, I begged and prayed to whatever higher power was out there that Nessie wouldn't be taken away from me. And not just for my selfish reasons. She was a bright presence that made others' lives so much better. Her goal was to keep peace with everybody especially the wolves and the Cullens.

When I was old enough to understand what had happened to my mother, the hole that had been in my heart, my soul, had become a black abyss. I'd known that she was gone, but when I learned what had really happened, I had become numb. I'd only been numb to new women in my life. Until Bella had come along. And I'd only been drawn to her because she was going to mother the woman that would be my soul mate.

Even Bella wasn't an exception to my tempers. But Nessie? She was the calm to my storm. She hated it when I frowned and was always trying to get me to smile, just as my mother always had. Nessie had, not really filled in the hole, but had helped to heal it. Heal my soul. My rage had always come from that hole, but now that Nessie had worked her magic on me, I didn't have that kind of rage. Yes, I was angry about the people trying to kill her, but that was a different type of anger. I wasn't sure how to explain it, but it was.

It occurred to me that we were just standing there, holding each other. A few tears had trickled down my cheeks to land in her hair but I didn't really care. It had felt good to tell somebody about what I had lost. It had felt like a release.

I leaned back to look at her to find that a few of her tears had also made a trail on her cheeks. Gently, I wiped her face with my thumbs. She did the same to me with a watery smile.

"I love you, Nessie."

She grinned and placed her hand firmly over my heart. "Jacob, I love you very much," she said clearly, repeating the words she'd said to me the last time I'd brought her here.

Smiling back, I took her hands. "Come on. There's one more thing I want to show you now that you've seen this."

"Are you going to tell me where we're going this time?" she asked as I lifted her over the log once more. I loved how she held on to my biceps as I put her down.

I nodded, taking her hand. "We're going to my house."

Even though I knew she didn't want me to, I helped her into the truck and only closed the door when she'd pulled the skirt of her dress into the cab. We weren't able to talk as I backed us down the trail. The truck was too big for me to turn it around and I needed all my concentration.

When I finally had us on the road, she asked, "I'm assuming you mean Billy's house. Jacob, you've kind of moved into the Cullen house."

I took her hand as I thought of an answer. "That's true. The Black house will always be my home as will the Cullen house. But I can't give it up. There and the cliffs are the only memories I have of Mom."

She stroked my hand. "I know, Jake. I was just playing."

I brought her fingers up to my lips. "I know."

In a matter of minutes, we were pulling into the Black driveway. The house was dark which is what I was hoping for. Billy was probably up with Charlie and Sue. It was good because it was Billy's room that I was going for.

I led her through the dark house to the back master bedroom. When I turned on the lights, we both had to blink in the sudden light. But I knew when Nessie's eyes had adjusted because she gasped.

The walls were covered in pictures. Billy hated the idea of photo albums because he couldn't look at the pictures all the time that way. This room reflected Nessie's. Her walls were also covered in pictures. But I think what surprised her were all the pictures of her that had taken residence among the ones taken of me and my sisters when we were little. The pictures of my mom had been put around the giant mirror on one of the walls. Billy didn't use the mirror for looking into.

Nessie had let go of my hand and had done her rounds around the room when she came to the smooth glass. She stared at pictures of my mother, occasionally glancing at me and then smiling. I watched her as she studied each picture as if she were going to be asked to describe them later.

I studied a few while she was busy with those. My mother had been beautiful. Dark tan skin. Silky black hair that grew to her waist. But the one thing that she had been envied for was her eyes. They'd been a deep sea green. Strangely, Rebecca had been the only one of her three children to inherit them. And I hadn't seen her in years ever since she ran off to Hawaii.

"Jacob?" Nessie said, calling me out of my memories.

"Yeah?"

She pointed to the only two framed photos in the room. "Wha-I don't understand."

I couldn't help but smile at her confused look. Her lip was back between her teeth. I glanced at the pictures. They looked nearly identical. Both were in black and white, and both subjects were in almost the same pose, making it look as if it were a duplicate photo. The only difference was that one had curly hair and the other straight.

"Nessie, the one on the right is my mother back when she and Billy were in high school. It was a candid of her as she was coming out the door. He'd taken it when she wasn't watching when they'd first started dating." I gestured to the other. "That one is one I took of you one day when I was picking you up in your freshman year."

Both my mother and Nessie had books clutched to their chests, a smile on their lips, and both of them had their bottom lip stuck between their teeth in the same exact way. It was eerie and beautiful at the same time.

She stared at the pictures, and then, to my surprise, started crying.

"Nessie?" I rushed over to her and took her in my arms.

She cried for a moment against my chest until she could talk again. "I'm sorry. It's just-I understand why hers is framed beside the bed, but why is mine?"

I stroked her back. "Oh, sweetie. He loves you, too." Rocking her, I rested my cheek on her head. "You know, I hadn't known that the picture of my mom existed at first. When I showed Billy the one I had taken of you, he'd asked for a copy and a frame. After I gave them to him, he brought me in here to see the one that he'd had framed of mom. I knew right then and there that my mother would have loved you."

She leaned back and sniffled. "Really?"

I nodded and wiped her eyes. "Yes."

She smiled and hugged me again. "Thank you, Jacob. This has been the best first date ever. I've always wanted to know more about you. I love you so very much."

I kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much, too. And so does the pack."

"What?" she asked, sniffling again.

"You heard me. Even the wolves that were in Sam's pack that are uncomfortable with the Cullens. They care for you, too. They're always asking me how you are and stuff. And did you hear them last night? Any danger that comes to you is not taken lightly. And that's not just because I'm the Alpha that imprinted on you." I brought my hand to her face. "You're like my mother was. You're a light that shines so bright and warm that nobody can hate you. Whatever it takes, you make things right. You never back down. You fight for them even though you're not one of them. That earns you so many points with them, with me."

"Really?" she whispered.

I nodded. "Last night, I'm not even sure that you consciously said it, but you called them 'our packs', grouping yourself with us. It doesn't matter that you don't change into a giant wolf. It matters that you care about us. They see that, and they're willing to fight for you. As am I."

Her smile was radiant as she placed a hand to my cheek. "Well, I grew up with and fell in love with the greatest man in the world. I had a good teacher." She pressed her lips to mine gently.

Hands down, this woman was way too good for me.

But I wasn't about to fight fate.

* * *

**I love this chapter so much. Jacob's pain over his mother was something that really wasn't touched on in Breaking Dawn. It was mentioned about his sisters not coping well with being in the house and that she was in a car accident, so I decided to have their first date actually mean something to the both of them. If you review, please don't be condescending or nasty. I love your reviews but I hate being told how to write my own story. But I still love all of you for reading. It means a lot. xoxoxoxoxo**


	25. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 has arrived! I love this chapter. Aunt Alice...gotta love her. **

**So, I've gotten some reviews that have made me feel super awesome. Now, I don't want to brag or seem totally self-absorbed, but some of you have told me that I've inspired you to become better writers or to start writing again in general...WOW. I have never been told that I am someone's inspiration, so I humbly say thank you. This story wouldn't have continued past chapter one without you guys, so you're such a motivation for me. **

**I also want to say that I am working on a second story and also a compilation of one shots for both couples: Jacob/Nessie and Seth/Shelby. Just in case you're curious.**

**I own nothing. :(**

**But please enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

The end to the date was perfect. Jacob and I had started making out when Billy had rolled in and cleared his throat. We'd jumped apart at first, but then Jacob had wrapped his arms around my waist and had pressed a gentle kiss just under my jaw, which made me weak.

Billy had let me pick out some photos to take home with me, telling me that he had copies of all of them that he could put back up. I'd picked a few of my favorites. Before we left, I kissed him on the cheek and said thank you. He'd told me that I was as much a part of the Black family as Jacob was and then he'd winked at Jake, who'd blushed furiously. Jacob had all but pushed me out the door.

When we got back to the house, Jacob had kissed me and then gone to raid the kitchen. Shaking my head, I plopped down on the couch next to Aunt Alice while Uncle Jasper played chess with Aunt Rosalie. I put my head on Aunt Alice's shoulder.

"Who's winning?" I asked.

"Jasper's winning this game but Rosalie has won a few."

"Impressive," came Jake's voice from the kitchen.

"Not as dumb as I look, huh, mutt?" Aunt Rose called from the floor.

When Jacob poked his head around the door frame to scowl at her, she smiled at him. What was a surprise was that it wasn't a sarcastic or mean smile. It was a smile that said she was joking. After his moment of shock, Jake grinned at her.

"I guess not, Blondie." Then he was gone to raid the pantry.

From the kitchen, we heard, "Jacob Black, you're going to ruin your dinner." That was Mom.

"Chill, Bells. It's just a sandwich. I'll be hungry again in thirty minutes."

Mom huffed. "I swear, you wolves. It's a surprise that you haven't eaten yourselves out of house and home."

"Well, don't you worry, Bells. We're working on it." There was a smack followed by, "Ow!"

I shook my head. "That boy," I mumbled. "Anyway, so, Aunt Alice, I doubt that you've seen this, but you have a wedding to plan." When her eyes flicked to my hands and the entire house went quiet, even Jacob in the kitchen, I hurried on. "Rachel. She's decided that she could use some super quick help."

The house started moving and breathing again, and I no longer feared for Jacob's life. I heard a relieved sigh come from the piano room just before it started up. I let down my mental shield and said a silent apology to my father.

Jacob walked back in to the living room with a sandwich in his hand and gave me a look. I shrugged apologetically as he sat down at my feet and put his back to my knees. Absently watching the chess game, I ran my fingers through his hair. There was an appreciative rumble that echoed from him chest.

Aunt Alice had run to get her box of wedding planning materials. When she plopped back onto the couch, she threw the box on Jacob's unsuspecting lap, making him grunt.

"Thanks, Shortie. What do you have in there? Bricks?"

She made a face at the back of his head. "You should be so lucky." Then she turned to me. "Now, I'm trying to _see_ around all the wolves and you. What I'm getting is red. Why am I seeing red?"

I shrugged. "All the bridesmaids have picked their style of dress. The red is going to match the groomsmen's vests. We were hoping that you'd be able to make them. Emily's would have to wait closer to the wedding because she's pregnant, but we were thinking that you could go ahead and get ours done."

"Hmmm. Have we figured out the order of the bridesmaids and groomsmen?"

"Well, I'm Maid of Honor and Jake is Best Man. I think it's going to be Sam and Emily next. Then, Seth and Shelby."

Aunt Alice tapped Jake on the head hard. "Hey, see that binder? Get it for me."

Jacob snorted. "Ruff, ruff." And then he handed her the binder.

"Good boy." She started flipping through it. "Has she planned anything in the way of the Maid of Honor somehow matching the bride? Some people like that tradition."

I thought about it. "Well, her wedding dress is going to be white with black accents. My dress will be red and black. The rest of the bridesmaids' will just be red."

She nodded. "Well, I'm assuming that there are pictures of these dresses. Now, I'm also assuming that this will be an outside wedding?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She wants it on the rez for obvious reasons. But she doesn't know exactly where because she doesn't really have a vision of how she wants it decorated. That's where she was hoping you'd come in and save the day."

"Of course I will. I'm more than useless on the invading pack front." Now that she mentioned it, I was surprised that I hadn't thought of asking her before. I guess I just sort of assumed that since she couldn't our werewolves then she couldn't see the others.

"You can't see them either?"

She shook her head. "If I could, you wouldn't have had those two scares. And this Caden character wouldn't have to play both sides. I'd know his motives and all that good stuff. But no." She sighed. "Anyway…" She leaned forward and flicked Jacob hard in the neck.

He jumped forward, hand going to the spot. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"Give me your sister's number," she demanded.

Jacob scowled at her. "Did you really have to flick me that hard? Geez. For a number?"

Aunt Alice got a dangerous look in her eyes as she readied her fingers again. "Don't make me flick you again. Number. Now."

"Ok, ok, ok," he said and quickly rattled off the numbers.

Aunt Alice got up and went off in the direction of the dining room with the phone to her ear and her box of wedding planning stuff. Jacob was glaring after her still rubbing his neck.

"That little pixie…" he grumbled.

I gently moved his hand so that I could lean forward and press a gentle kiss to the spot that was darker than the rest of his tan skin. His shoulders relaxed and his back fell against my knees once more.

"Better?" I asked against his skin.

"Much," he whispered hoarsely.

He turned into me and pressed our lips together. As the kiss got hotter, the music coming from the piano became more intense and louder.

When we broke apart, I laughed. "Sorry, Dad, but if we have to watch you and Mom make out, then you can deal with us. Not to mention that you don't get that way with Shelby and Seth." _And I know they get much hotter than we do,_ I added in my head where he couldn't hear.

Jacob chuckled and pressed his lips to mine again. I could honestly say that I could hear Dad's teeth grind.

At that moment, Aunt Alice came back in, clapping her hands and a wide grin on her face. It was like a whole different person. Jacob shoved himself between my legs for protection. I wrapped my arms around him, my hands smoothing down his chest, and rested my cheek on the top of his head. He lifted one of my hands to his lips so that he could kiss my wrist. It felt so good to be this comfortable with him.

"Ok, who wants to go shopping? Rachel's on her way up here."

Shelby darted out of the kitchen. "I do! Let me go change."

"What you're wearing is fine," Aunt Alice said. When Shelby just stared at her, Aunt Alice threw her hands in the air. "Oh, fine."

When my best friend darted up the stairs, my aunt turned to me. "I am never buying her clothes again."

I nodded. "That's probably best."

She glared at me and turned away.

Jacob stroked my cheek. "You wanna go with them?"

"What about you?"

He shrugged under my arms. "I've gotta get back down to the garage. We kinda left in a hurry yesterday. Had an imprint to take care of."

"Sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be. I also need to check in with the patrol shifts." He twisted one of my curls that had fallen around us around one of his fingers. "Go with them. You need some normal girl time. Buy things, laugh, and talk about the wedding and us guys. Go get a dose of normal while I deal with the weird stuff, ok?"

I looked at him suspiciously. "Is this your way of taking care of me again?"

He pressed a kiss to my lips. "Maybe," he whispered and kissed me again, making my head spin and my stomach tighten. "Is it working?"

I'd closed my eyes. "Maybe," I whispered back against his lips.

He brought his hand up to the back of my head to press me closer to him. My hands were clutching his shoulders. Since yesterday at the cabin, we'd gotten used to using our tongues. And boy, did we use them now. A low rumble started in Jake's chest as the kisses got hotter. My nails dug into him through his shirt.

His lips were soft but demanding, like I was water and he had been in the desert for a year. I felt his teeth nip at my bottom lip, and I let out a small groan.

And then came the interrupting cough from the doorway leading to the piano room.

We broke apart, still breathing hard. I knew my eyes were slightly unfocused. But I could still see Dad standing there with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

Instead of saying anything about what he'd just walked in on, Dad let an icy smile slide over his lips. "Are you going to make Adam and Derek go with her?" I realized the question was for Jacob.

Jacob had opened his mouth to answer, but stopped when a whirlwind in the form of Aunt Alice stormed into the room.

"No, no, no! I will not have two male werewolves come with us on this shopping trip."

Jacob grinned at her, sensing his revenge for the flick was near. "If I ordered them to go, you wouldn't have a choice, Alice."

She glared at him. "You and your freakish wolfy ways are about to get on my last nerve." Her eyes turned pleading. "Come on, Jake. I was the only one other than Bella that has liked you from the very beginning. Esme doesn't count. She likes everybody."

He sighed as he thought about it. "Ok, but if anything happens-,"

"I will get you on the phone immediately. I promise."

He also made sure that she had Derek and Adam's numbers. He'd keep them on call here at the house.

"You sure you'll be ok?" he asked as we were all getting ready to leave.

I hugged his waist and looked up at him. "Yes, Jake. Remember, normal? I doubt they'd attack in the city. Plus I have vampires surrounding me."

"Don't forget me," Shelby said. "I may not look it, but I pack a mean sucker punch."

I laughed. "She really does. You should have seen her freshman year."

"It won't come to that," Momma said from the stairs. "We wouldn't let it."

"We'll take care of her, Jacob," Aunt Rosalie said, poking her head into the living room. She'd gone into the dining room to help Aunt Alice sort through things.

"And Shelby," Seth said as he came through the front door, followed by Rachel.

"Of course," Aunt Rose said.

Rachel was standing in the middle of the living room just staring at everything. It occurred to me that this was the first time that she'd ever been in the Cullen house.

"Wow," she whispered. "This place is amazing."

Jacob put his hands on her shoulders. "It gets old after a while, but it also starts to feel like home." He looked at me and Aunt Rose where she'd come to stand next to me. "That could be because of the people though," he finished, winking at us.

We both smiled at him. Aunt Rose put an arm around me and leaned into my ear. "I'm sorry, Nessie. Now that I actually see him, he's a total keeper."

She'd said it loud enough that Jacob could hear her. A moment later he was standing in front of us with his hand held out for a handshake.

"Truce?" he asked.

She stared at his hand for a moment. Jake glanced at me, and I shrugged. A second later, Aunt Rose flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Jacob's moment of shock was totally picture worthy. Quickly, I pulled my phone out. After putting it back together, we'd found that it worked. I snapped a picture as I tried to hold back my laugh. When Jacob got over his shock enough to move, he gently wrapped his arms around her.

"Family," she whispered.

"What?" I said.

"Not a truce. Families don't have truces." She pulled back out of Jacob's arms and looked up at him. "Jacob, I owe you the deepest apology. I was rude and downright mean to you when you've done nothing to deserve it. Nessie was right. All those years ago, you didn't have to leave Sam and the pack to protect us, even though you were only there for Bella. You and the packs didn't have stand with us against the Volturi or the newborn army before that. You've helped to save our family so many times, and I've never thanked you for it." She took a deep breath. "So this is my apology and thanks all in one."

Jacob just stood there with his mouth slightly open staring at her. I looked around to find that everybody had silently entered the room or was watching from the stairs. This was truly an epic moment in the family story because everyone knew that she felt cheated out of life, and this was her letting go of that hatred of fate that she'd been carrying around.

Someone started clapping. "Well, hallelujah!" Looking up, I found it was Shelby.

Everybody in the room started laughing and clapping, too.

**ShelbyPOV**

The tension in the house dropped considerably after my outburst. But I just couldn't help it. The hatred that Rosalie had felt toward Jacob had been palpable since I came to live here. I didn't like that she hadn't liked him. Jacob was good for the family; he was good for Nessie. Anybody good for my best friend deserved more respect.

"Alright, Cullen women and Jacob's sister! Let's go shopping. We have work to do." I skipped down the stairs and into Seth's arms. I hadn't seen him all day, and I'd missed him.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispered against my bruised cheek. "You ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm much better," I said against his lips. "Do you want me to stay here with you since you just got off?"

He shook his head. "No. You go have fun with the girls. I'm going to catch some sleep." He squeezed my waist and pulled me closer to him. "Jake gave me the rest of the week off. Something tells me I'll need the sleep," he said suggestively.

I couldn't help but blush. We'd been talking about how our relationship was progressing. Even though we'd only been together a little over two months, we were so far in the grave with each other that there was no way I'd ever be with someone else. Like Jake was for Nessie, Seth was the rest of my life. And I didn't want to wait to "grow up" to be his in every way. I'd been contemplating how to get him alone and me in the green lingerie for him for a week now.

He kissed my nose. "That's what I thought. I'll take you to Port Angeles and Seattle."

"Seth, you don't have to do that."

He gave me a questioning look. "Don't you want to have some time alone? I've been getting the hints that that's what you want."

Ok, so he had been picking that up. I picked at a thread on his shirt. "I just want this if you want it, too."

He stroked the side of my neck. "I _do_ want this. I want you, Shelby." He looked up and around the room. "Let's talk about this later, ok? We'll talk when you get back."

I nodded. He was right. There were too many people here to have that type of conversation. And he looked exhausted. He'd taken Jacob's shift as well so he'd basically taken a double.

I put my hand on his face. "Ok, I'll go shopping. You make sure to get some sleep, ok?"

When he nodded, I looked at the group in the room. They were talking amongst themselves.

"Hey, guys!" When they looked at me, I continued, "Be sure to let Seth sleep. He and I have business to take care of."

They all shared a look and then as one they all nodded. Some of them were snickering. Mr. Cullen's face was going through different emotions. Worry, amusement, irritation. But finally he just shook his head and laughed to himself.

Nessie was kissing Jacob goodbye for the trip. We'd be gone for a while, and since I was now an imprint, too, I knew how she felt. Watching them, I knew they were perfect for each other. It was amazing that they hadn't done more than make out yet, even though they'd only gotten together two days ago. I could see the tension in their bodies. No matter what Jacob said, his body wanted her. Every time she came into the room, his body would turn toward her. The same could be said for her. She always smiled and basked in the warmth of him. He kept her warm and safe. She kept him calm and sane. And they'd be that way forever.

It hit me right then that they really did have forever. She was half vampire and he was a werewolf that could choose to stop phasing and age or stay the way he was for as long as he wanted. Seth was the same way, but I was human. I'd start to grow old, and I'd die. Of course, Seth would stop phasing to be with me. But it wasn't the same. I'd be leaving Nessie. They'd mourn me. I didn't want that.

"Hey, you ok?" Seth asked, squeezing me.

I startled back to reality. Trying to play it off, I smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He gave me that look that told me he didn't believe me. But I kissed him before he could ask again.

"Hey, guys, are we going or not?" I yelled to the girls.

I let go of Seth reluctantly and met everyone at the front door. Nessie took my hand with a giant smile. My smile, I knew, was just a little sad as I stared at her. She'd look this way forever.

One last look over my shoulder at Seth and I was dragged out the door.

**JPOV**

Once the girls left, Seth sank down on the couch. There was a frown on his face and his eyes were troubled.

"Hey. You alright?" I asked sitting beside him.

He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm fine, but something's up with Shelby. She was watching you and Nessie, and then this really sad look crossed her face. I don't wanna pry, but are you two ok?"

"We're fine other than the fact that Edward wants to dismember me."

"She's scared," Edward said from the corner of the room.

Seth was on immediate alert. "Scared of what?"

Edward sighed. "I would say death, but that's not exactly it. That would be a selfish thing, but Shelby's fear is more of leaving people behind. Leaving people to mourn for her." He looked pointedly at Seth. "The thought of you not living forever with your pack brothers like Jacob scares her. She doesn't want you to feel like you're giving something up just to be with her. She wants to stay, but she knows she's human."

Seth shook his head. "I won't mind growing old with her."

"Nessie is also a concern of hers. They're like sisters. And I do think that Nessie would be lost without her."

"But there's nothing we can do about that. Unless we turn her into a vampire."

The only thing I could do was stare at him. He'd actually consider that?

"I thought that the point of imprinting was to carry the gene? She can't do that if she's a vampire."

Seth sighed. "I don't care. I mean, yeah I want kids, but they aren't real to me. She is. If she wants that life, then I'd follow her. It would be just like you and Nessie. Except the two of you could have kids."

"Well, we don't know that for sure," I said. "Carlisle says that her body is resistant to some change just like a vampire's. I can remember the first time her cramps kicked in." Edward and I both flinched. "She was in so much pain that she passed out."

"So, what? You're suggesting that imprinting is not for that?"

Edward shrugged. "Not completely. It's a complete tie to a person. It has to be more than just mating. I figure it's the way that your kind can find a mate that completely understands you whether that mate can conceive or not."

We all three sat there in silence. It made perfect sense. It couldn't be just about mating. If it was, I'd never wonder and ask how Nessie felt about something. Instead, I'd always be trying to get her clothes off as fast as I could when the urge hit. But it wasn't like that. One, I valued my life too much. And two, I loved her. She came first. Always.

"Well, not to be rude or anything," I said, turning to Seth. "But have you found anything on patrols?"

He shook his head. "Nope. No scents. No sign of that one wolf, either. I think Nessie's right. It's going to take some time for him to get back in good with that pack. Especially knowing how tough we are. We might as well sit back and get comfy. I doubt we'll be seeing any action anytime soon."

I nodded. "Alright. Thanks. Why don't you go up and get some sleep? I'm gonna head down to the shop."

We both went in our separate directions. He was going to need the sleep if he was going to spend the rest of the week with Shelby. I had a strange feeling that they were about to consummate their relationship. Strangely, the thought didn't bother me or make me blush. It was a part of what we were at our very core.

She needed to know that he was going to be there for her no matter what. Her insecurity of the males in her life was crippling her, causing her not to trust the one man that would never let her down. If she needed Seth to make love to her, if that was her proof that he was going to be there, then he would do it.

And that's when I realized that I could learn from him. Seth had no qualms about what he was doing. Sure, he'd probably want to marry her and do things the traditional ways. But if what he wanted and what she needed were his two choices, he'd pick her every damn time.

"Jacob," Edward said in a warning tone.

"No, I know, Edward. I was just thinking about that and something Nessie said to me. You know I'd never force anything on her."

"What did she say?"

I played our conversation back to him from last night:

_I pried her fingers open so that I could press her palm to my face. "Yes, I do want this. _But at the right time_."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_I sighed. "I love you, and I want to be with you like that. But right now, you're scared. You want comfort, to get lost in something." My hands gripped her waist. "However, I need to do right by you. And this isn't right to take advantage of you when you're vulnerable." Gripping her waist, I pulled her a little closer up my thighs as I sat up. "I don't want you to be angry with me. Maybe, I'm just not ready for this."_

_The look of hurt vanished, replaced by one of contemplation. "I never thought of it that way."_

_I stroked her now loose hair from her face. "Nessie, I may be a twenty-five year old man, but I've been stuck in a teenage mentality for so long because I was waiting on you. But when you caught up with me, I didn't move forward with you. This scares me." She leaned into me, wrapping her arms loosely around my neck. "I've always been the type of guy that wasn't just about sex. Hell, I was really never about sex. I was more about protecting, and I still am. You're not the only one who's a virgin with their hormones raging. My wolf self is dying to be truly mated."_

_"So…you want to get married?"_

_The question caught me off guard. But of course it was going to come up what with us all hot and heavy._

_I nodded anyway. "Well, yeah, eventually. I know your parents would appreciate it."_

_She laughed. "Of course they would." She stroked my face. "But, just so you know, those values aren't mine. I understand where you and they are coming from, but I love you. I know that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that." She lifted her leg and swung off my lap to kneel on the bed. "But ok, Jake. I'll respect your wishes." Leaning forward, she kissed my lips chastely. "I'll be right back."_

To my complete surprise, Edward chuckled. "She sounds like Bella did. Bella hated the idea of getting married. It terrified her." His face became serious. "My relationship with Bella was never normal to begin with. I'd had different morals of how to court a lady. We didn't do any of that because of the century we live in now. That was the one aspect I had control over because it was part of our deal. That was the one thing I wanted to keep true to my past before we moved our relationship up." He sighed and closed his eyes tight as if he were about to say something that pained him. "Nessie was born in this century where traditional ways are rare. She understands them, but she's so sure of you and her feelings for you, that she doesn't need you to prove to her that you love her by marrying her first. These days, that's all marriage is. It's still special to some, and it is to her. That wedding would show the world that she wants you and nobody else. She wants to be Mrs. Black so bad, but the name isn't as important to her as being close to you does. In Nessie's mind, you belonging to her, and her belonging to you is astronomically more important. My little girl is now a woman who knows what she wants and who she wants. That piece of paper means nothing to her. The moment you slide that ring on her finger is the moment she becomes a Black no matter what."

I'd wanted to do right by her. But what exactly constituted what was right and what was wrong in this scenario? Especially if Edward was right in saying that she knew what she wanted from "us". Of course, I knew I wouldn't be able to go all the way with her. Not yet. But did I really have to be so shy about our reactions to each other? She knew I wanted her. Everybody knew I wanted her. And everybody, including her, also knew what I did in the shower to thoughts of her. Poor Edward had to tune me out hard for those fifteen minutes of shower time. I felt sorry for the poor bastard.

But we'd only just gotten together two days ago, and had just had our first date today. We had time to go through all this and talk it out. Why was I making this such a big deal right now?

Sighing, I got up from the couch and held my hand out to a silent Edward. "I'm sorry that I've put you through hell with all of this. I'm going to do my best, but if Nessie knows what she wants, I'll give it to her, especially if I feel right in the decision. All I ask is that you trust me on this. That you trust me with her."

His eyes met mine, a demand in them that I tell him the truth. I must have passed because he took my hand.

"I wish she was more traditional, but whatever the two of you decide as a couple, I think I can live with. Just make sure that it's what _you_ want, too. I'm not worried just about her all the time, you know."

I nodded. "Thanks, Edward. You know I'll treat her right. That's the only way I know how."

It was his turn to nod. "I know. And if I hadn't messed up in the first place, neither of you would have had to go through the pain that you did."

"Edward, if you haven't learned by now that this family can be just plain stupid, then you haven't been paying attention. We all make mistakes. There will be many more to come." I leaned in to him. "But between you and me, we're both really happy that you did."

He grinned. "It did work out this time, didn't it?"

I nodded. "Well, so far, so good."

As I made my way out the door and down to the shop, I hoped like hell that it stayed that way.

* * *

**So does anybody think Edward messed up again? I don't. In fact, many of you are going to speculate on anything happening to Shelby. *tee hee hee* Please review! I love themz! xoxoxoxoxoxo**


	26. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 has arrived. Some of you may not be happy with this chapter saying that their relationship is progressing too fast now. Well, as Bella will point out in the chapter, their relationship isn't normal. Not to mention that I wanted to step away from the sexuality for a moment to get into touch with Jake's sensuality, if that makes any sense. But don't worry, there's steam in this one, too. By the way, I am in love with this chapter. Like, all the way around.**

**Disclaimer here.**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

The day passed by quickly. Luckily Rachel knew what she wanted once Aunt Alice had led her in the right direction, so it was shop after shop after shop. The six of us came out of every store loaded with at least five bags.

But something was seriously wrong with Shelby. When we'd been in the last store of the day, I'd caught her sad smiles as she'd watched me and my family. We were about to leave when I was about to ask her what was wrong, but Aunt Alice had gotten that look on her face that told me that she was having a vision. Two seconds later, she'd pulled Shelby away from me and lowered her voice. There was a lot of head shaking and nodding from Shelby.

I'd tried to listen in but Mom had stepped into my line of sight. "Renesmee, that's rude," she'd said as she sorted through the blouses in front of us.

"You can hear them," I said.

She'd picked one up and held it to me. "I'm tuning them out, as should you. If they want to tell us what's going on then they will. You need to trust Shelby."

I'd glanced at them again and decided that Mom was right. Picking up my own choice, I'd continued shopping, no longer stretching my hearing. When they'd come back over, I'd hooked my arm through Shelby's and smiled.

"You ok?"

Her smile had been on the happier side of sad. "Yeah, I'm starting to think that I will be."

I'd given her a look, but she'd just smiled.

Now, we were almost home and there was still plenty of time before dinner for Aunt Alice to start on our dresses. Aunt Alice had insisted on making Rachel's dress, too. At first, Rachel was hesitant but once my aunt showed her a quick complete sketch of her vision, Rachel was ecstatic.

Aunt Alice wanted to work on my dress first since Jake was going to be down at the rez. We hadn't stayed out as long as we'd originally planned because she'd wanted to get started. And Jacob and I were rarely apart. Rachel didn't want the guys to see us girls in our dresses until the wedding. She wanted the emotions to be there for everyone.

As soon as we got there, Aunt Alice ordered me to go upstairs and strip to my underwear. We'd bought me specific underwear for the wedding, and I had to put it on so that she could fit the dress perfectly to it.

I was currently standing in my room, standing in my new black push up bra and silk black underwear and looking at my phone as I waited for Aunt Alice to gather her dress making supplies. Jacob hadn't texted me all day. That usually happened when he was in the shop. Working on cars helped calm him down and be able to think.

There was a knock on my door and then a bunch of red silk came into the room followed by Aunt Alice. She scrutinized me for a moment before nodding.

"I like it."

Shelby, who had come in behind Alice, stared at me. "Oh my god! Your boobs are like giant water balloons." While I blushed, she turned to Aunt Alice. "Are you sure they won't fall out of that dress? Or make Jake pass out standing next to Paul? I really hope he won't be feeling any sexual urges that day or Rachel won't end up being the main event."

Alice threw the red silk and black lace on the bed. She then pulled out some sewing pins from her purse. "That's the point. I'm experimenting."

"For what? The quickest way to give Jake a kickstand?"

Aunt Alice nearly spit out the sewing pins she'd put between her lips to hold them. I got it a second later and my blush deepened considerably as my stomach tightened.

Every time we'd looked at lingerie for Rachel or underwear for me and Shelby, I'd thought of Jacob last night on the bed. I remembered the way his body had felt on top of and under mine. The feeling of sitting over his hips. His skin had tasted smoky and salty. His lips had felt a lot like the silk that was currently being thrown over my body.

But what had caught me off guard had been the way my body had reacted at the thoughts. I knew that after our make-out sessions or any time I did something to turn Jake on, he needed to "take a shower", but ever since two days ago when our steaminess began, the tight feelings had dissipated for me when it had ended. But not today. Today my stomach stayed tight, and the heat had traveled down to the space between my legs where it was also tight and achy.

That was all brought back now with Shelby's comments. Luckily, my thoughts were cut off from Dad. But Uncle Jasper could be a problem. No matter what I did or how I moved that tightness and heat just wouldn't go away, and the only word I could come up with for it was _frustration._ And it got worse every time I thought of Jacob.

So I decided to go back to the conversation for now. The only problem was that it wasn't going to help me any.

"No," Aunt Alice said. "Though that is a good point. I'm trying to find the style that Jake likes the most on her. People don't realize that the right clothes can keep the relationship nice and steamy."

Shelby shrugged. "Or no clothes at all."

Aunt Alice shook her head. "No. It's all in the reveal, what's hidden, and how it's accentuated. I just have to find out what on her makes him wild."

I raised my hand.

"Yes?"

Rachel walked through the door with even more red silk as Aunt Alice began cutting and sticking needles here and there.

"Um, I already know the answer to that?"

Aunt Alice stood straight and put her hands on her hips. "And why haven't you told me?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. Tell me now."

I blushed as I placed my hands on my hips. "My hips. It used to be my waist before he was, uh, allowed to touch. But now my hips. And, um, well, uh…" I put my hands up beside my breasts as if I were going to push them together. I didn't have to do that because the bra was doing it for me.

Shelby nodded solemnly. "Your water balloons," she said with a straight face.

Rachel burst out laughing. "I totally missed this conversation, didn't I?"

Shelby grinned at her. "Your brother."

Rachel's face immediately matched Shelby's solemn expression and she nodded. "Ah, yes. Jacob has become a breast and ass man. I always thought he would be."

I stayed silent, my blush speaking for me.

"Yes," came a voice from the doorway. "Which is why I always knew his infatuation with me wouldn't last. I didn't have anything he could grab onto."

Mom, my_ mother_, was standing there grinning with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Mom!"

She shrugged. "What? It's true. I always wondered where you got those curves. Apparently, they came from Edward's biological mother's side of the family."

"Is Dad downstairs?"

She nodded, still grinning.

"Are you trying to get Jake on the chopping block?" I demanded, still blushing.

That grin turned wicked. "Why? Has he been doing some grabbing that we should be aware of?"

Ok, my whole body was achy and tight, and now blushing. What had gotten into my mother? She and Dad had been so easygoing with Jacob since we got back from the cabin that it was kind of scary. Their overprotectiveness had completely vanished. Strangely, they were letting us be. It was nice, but I was waiting for the other shoe to drop soon.

If I didn't stop blushing, it was going to end up permanent. They all laughed, even my mom. I liked it this way. I was an equal among all the women. Even Shelby was treated as a mature adult. We were all women here who were talking about their men. The men that we loved.

Finally, I loosened up a bit as we all started sharing stories and blushes. They were all curious how Jacob and I fared in the cabin the other night. Shelby had again demanded to know about our kisses right down to the placement of ours hands. I tried to recall as much as I could. They all sighed dreamily when I was done. No doubt, they were all thinking of their own tender moments with their men.

About an hour later, Aunt Alice and Rachel helped me out of the start of my dress when we heard the boys downstairs. They were loud and obnoxious, but this time it was useful. Aunt Alice slipped off the very high heels that I'd had to put on so that she could get the length right. I was seriously going to have to practice walking in them before the wedding.

They left me to change back into my normal underwear and my sundress. Jacob was just about to make his way up the stairs when I was halfway down. He smiled up at me and held his hand out. He'd tried to scrub the oil from his hands and arms but he really needed a shower from being under car hoods all day. I took his hand anyway. I'd gladly suffer the oil and grease just to be next to him. The feeling in my body burned hotter, but the tightness loosened a notch when I'd taken his hand. I could breathe better now.

"Hey, where were you? I was just coming to find you," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and carrying me down the rest of the stairs. Being pressed to his body sent chills through mine.

"Sorry. I was getting dressed."

He raised his eyebrows at me in question.

"Aunt Alice is making the bridesmaids' dresses. Mine was up first," I explained as he set me on my feet. I tried not to let my blush show. Yeah, I was used to loving and lusting after Jacob, but what I was feeling was a whole new ballgame. I wasn't quite sure if it was the right time for this particular level.

He placed a kiss on my lips. "Can I see?"

"Do you want Aunt Alice to flick you again?" I asked, looking at his neck. There was still a dark mark from earlier.

He grimaced and shook his head. "I'll wait for the wedding."

I patted his chest. "That's a wise choice, Mr. Black."

Jacob grinned and pulled me in to his body. "Did you have a good time today, Miss Cullen?"

I resisted the urge to shiver and met his eyes with a smile. "I did. It was exactly what I needed. Thank you. And our first date was amazing. Did you get a lot done in the shop?"

He nodded. "I actually managed to get quite a lot done today. It was nice to be the only one in my head for a while…if you know what I mean," he whispered suggestively.

It made me giggle. "Oh, yeah. I'm happy I have my own mental block."

"Really, now?" he asked, his voice deepening.

Nodding, I went up on the tip of my toes and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. His hands tightened on my waist and moved down to my hips. I smiled to myself.

Digging my nails into his bare shoulders and dragging them down his muscular arms, I whispered, "Why don't you go get a shower? The girls and I will fix dinner for you boys."

He licked his lips, his eyes darkening. "Mmm, sounds good to me."

I had absolutely no idea what the hell had gotten into all of us today, but Jacob and I were so comfortable with our sexuality in this moment that it felt like the world had caught fire. I loved the heat in his eyes as he bent to kiss me. This kiss wasn't gentle. It was demanding. His lips, tongue, and teeth called to the heat inside me as his hands tightened on my hips even more. My body was cheering because it felt that if things continued, the heat and tension would be eased. But we couldn't go that far. Not yet.

When a growl started to grow in his chest is when I decided that the heat needed to chill while we were still in the house with my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I pressed a hand against his chest, pushing him back. We pressed our foreheads together, breathing hard.

"Sorry," he whispered.

I shook my head as much as I could with it pressed to his. "Don't be. I didn't push you away because I was uncomfortable with it. I did it because of where we are."

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Leaning up, he pressed his lips to my forehead. "Let me go get a shower."

"That might be a good idea."

We kissed one more time and then he was gone up the stairs. I was suddenly shivering from the lack of warmth emanating from him. The place between my legs was pounding though and the tightness was still in my stomach.

"Nessie? Come on. We got a meal to cook." Shelby was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking at me with a knowing look. She nodded her head toward the kitchen and held her arm out to me.

I took it as she led me to the food.

Twenty minutes later, Jacob walked into the kitchen to find me and Shelby covered in mashed potatoes and Aunt Alice powdered in flour. We were laughing so hard that none of us could breathe.

"What the hell happened in here?" he demanded. He made his way carefully into the kitchen. "You're supposed to be making dinner to eat, not to wear it."

Aunt Alice held up two spoons. One had mashed potatoes on it, the other flour. "Ok. Since you want to complain, which would you like to wear?"

He held up his hands in surrender and backed out of the kitchen. Esme came in behind him, followed by Mom.

"Why don't you girls go clean up? Bella and I will finish dinner."

Shelby shook her head. "No, we'll clean up and finish."

Esme smiled gently. "It's ok, dear. We don't mind. It's nice to see you girls have so much fun after all the drama." She jerked her chin to the door. "Go clean up. We'll finish this up. It's almost done anyway."

I kissed her cheek, trying not to get any food on her. "Thanks, Grandma. Next time we won't make such a mess."

"Nonsense. It gives me something to do."

Her turning to the kitchen was her way of dismissing us. We laughed our way up the stairs. To my surprise, Jacob followed. There was a serious look on his face as if he were contemplating something.

When I got to my room, he closed the door behind himself and sat himself on the bed.

"Jake? I gotta take a shower."

He nodded. "I know."

I gave him a look. "So, you're just gonna sit in here?"

He nodded again absently.

"Ooook?" I shook my head and went for my closet. I picked my pajamas for the night and then came out to stop at my jewelry box to place my hair clip in its place.

A surprised squeak came out of me when I felt Jacob's hands on my shoulders, fingers rubbing the muscles there. The sundress had thin straps and his hands were big so they covered a lot of skin. A moment later, I felt his lips just below my left ear press a soft kiss into my skin. I shivered with pleasure.

"Grab your robe," he whispered.

"What?" I asked through the fog of lust my brain had sunk into the moment he'd touched me.

"Your robe. Grab it."

Confused, I reached over to my closet door and unhooked the white fluffy robe that Shelby had bought me freshman year. The moment it was close enough, he took it from my hands and threw it on the bed. His hands gripped the top of my arms and pulled me backward. I felt him hit the bed and he sat down, tugging me between his knees. He took my long hair in his hands and moved it over my right shoulder.

"Jake, what-?"

"Shh," he said. "Just let me do this. Please."

I hadn't realized that my shoulders had been tense until I relaxed into his hands. But it came back the moment his fingers started pulling down the zipper to my dress.

"Jacob-," I said, my hands going to my back.

He gripped my wrists gently. "Nessie, do you trust me?"

My answer was automatic. "Of course, but-,"

"Then trust me now," he said softly as he pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder. I felt something wet dart over my skin. It took me a moment to realize that it was his tongue and I was covered in food. He was probably licking some potatoes off my skin.

Swallowing hard, I nodded and wiggled my wrists so he'd let them go. A moment later, his fingers were back to my zipper, gently pulling it down. My heart was hammering in my throat and it was hard to breathe. I could feel goosebumps crawl up my skin as it was revealed to him. I knew he was done with the zipper when he reached up to pull the straps down from my shoulders. I looked over my shoulder at him as he slid them down my arms and off my fingers, my lip between my teeth. His eyes met mine while those gentle hands went to my hips to shimmy the dress down my legs.

"Step out," he said.

It was at that moment that I realized he was telling me where he wanted me. He was taking control of the situation, of the fire between us. Just like in my dream. I blushed and faced forward again.

I stepped out of the puddle of the dress, standing before him in only my underwear. My back was still to him. I couldn't really bear to face him, unless he turned me around. But he didn't. Instead, I felt his hands go to the bra strap across my back.

"Hold it in place."

I gasped as my hands went to my breasts to hold the cups there. I felt the tension of the strap loosen. The straps at my shoulders fell loose to my elbows. I was way too shocked at his actions to be embarrassed or even blush. Was this really happening? What happened to the shy man who didn't want to do more than kiss and grip my hips? What had he been thinking about in that garage, under all those hoods?

When his hands reached for the straps at my arms, I clutched the bra to me.

"Jacob, I-,"

I couldn't finish when I felt his lips in the middle of my back. Just one kiss and my knees nearly gave out. The heat that I'd felt before hadn't been anything like this. He hadn't done anything to make me uncomfortable yet, and I guess that was what made me uncomfortable. I was ok with this. I _liked _this. With that realization, I knew that I wanted us to do this again. I wanted us to do this when we could actually finish it. Jacob wouldn't take this where it was bound to go because he was a gentleman. Not to mention that it wasn't the right time. We both knew that.

So I let my arms fall down to my sides so he could slide the bra off. The cool air rushed over my newly bared skin and I felt myself tighten, harden. The bra hadn't hit the floor. I guessed that he'd laid it on the bed with the dress. His hands came to rest on my hips. The feel of his fingers against me there made me shiver violently. His thumbs pressed into the indentions of my lower back, just over my butt. Those long fingers met up at my belly button. The only thing left was my underwear. But he wouldn't…would he?

No, he wouldn't. He didn't. He pressed one more kiss to my back, and then I felt the fluff of the robe at one of my hands. He slipped it up to my shoulders where he left it for me to pull across my body and tie closed.

When I turned around, his eyes were gentle and dark. I gave him a questioning look. I had no idea what had brought that up with him. But I'd liked it.

"Go take your shower. I'll wait downstairs."

There was no way that I could just leave him after that with just a smile. So, I put my hands to his face and brought down my mental block. I replayed the last five minutes for him from my point of view. The way my body had heated up and tightened. My heart hammering in my chest. My breath catching. The way his lips and fingers had felt on my skin. The command in his voice making my blood boil in a good way. How much I really wanted to do that again.

At the tail end of it, I pressed my lips to his. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he whispered. "Thank you. For trusting me."

I leaned back to meet his eyes. They were still dark, just a shade off of black. "I will always trust you. With every single part of me."

I kissed him again and went to take my shower.

**JPOV**

The moment the door closed behind her, I collapsed back on the bed.

_Wow_ did not even begin to cover what just happened between us. Now that the moment had passed, I wondered where the hell that bravery had come from. To touch her like that, to undress her. But all I could think about was what she'd shown me. She'd liked it. She'd liked me taking control. She'd liked my hands on her, my lips on her skin.

When I slapped my hands down beside me, I felt the straps of her light blue bra. Feeling brave again, I lifted the thing up to my nose and inhaled. It smelled like her. That sweet tanginess that I'd come to recognize as her was also mixed with a little sweat.

I sighed. Man, she wanted to do that again…when our time came. There was no way I could deny her that because I agreed. I definitely wouldn't mind doing that again. She'd seemed more comfortable with me calling the shots. And that was because she trusted me to do the right thing with her.

Two days ago and yesterday, I had been nervous about wanting her. But today, when I was under the hood and my hands were working without my mind, I'd realized that Seth had it right. My thoughts before I'd left here had been on the money. Seth was being the man in Shelby's life. Not the boy. And when I'd told Nessie that I had been in a teenage mentality, I should have kept it present tense.

Nessie had been right. We were comfortable with each. No, we'd never seen each other naked, except maybe in her dreams, but we'd been pressed up against each other so many times that there were no illusions about what was under our clothes. No illusions about the possibilities.

I was done being the boy. I was the man now. No more being shy with her. No more being skittish around Bella and Edward, or anybody else. Because I'd also been thinking about earlier when Billy had rolled in on us making out in his room. The way she'd pulled away from me in embarrassment. And then the way she'd calmed down when I had gone back to her as if nothing had happened. I'd realized that she was taking her queues from me. I was supposed to have been the adult before her. She was still learning. When I was comfortable, so was she.

So, I'd decided to experiment tonight. And it was amazing. I was calm, she was calm. She trusted me. The entire time she could have said no, and I would have stopped. I'd have zipped the dress back up, kissed her, apologized, and walked out of the room. But that didn't happen.

As it was, I knew I needed to get out of here before her shower was up. Before I left, I grabbed the dress and her bra, and took them with me. When I met Alice in the living room, I handed them to her.

"Will you get these cleaned up? Please?"

She took them gently from my hands with a smile. "Of course." She started to walk away, but then turned around. "I'm sorry for flicking you so hard."

I shrugged. "I'll get over it. Not to mention that I'm gonna be around for a long time. I might as well get used to annoying you and you retaliating."

Her grin was bright and shiny. "Nessie couldn't have picked a better man."

"Thanks, Shortie."

"Dinner's on the table."

"I'll wait for her."

She shook her head. "You know she won't want you to."

I sighed. She was right. If Nessie found out that I'd waited for her to eat, she'd get angry with me, telling me that I wasn't being nice to my poor stomach. So, I followed Alice into the dining room. Paul had come up here to eat with us and Rachel. Seth and Shelby were sitting next to each other hand in hand. To my surprise, Emily and Sam had come up as well. But my surprise was short lived. Alice must have called them to talk about wedding stuff.

"Her dress and bra, Jacob?" I heard from behind me.

Damn. I was hoping I'd at least get a meal before Edward ripped into me. I turned to him with my defense on my tongue. But I didn't need it. There was a smirk on his face, but a warning in his eyes.

"Be careful with her, Jacob."

I nodded. "I know, Edward. You know damn well nothing would have happened tonight. And you _know_ that I didn't see anything. I know what her body is telling her, but I needed to know that she trusted me with her before anymore groping happened."

He nodded. "Looking at the situation, I can say that it could have escalated rather quickly." He sighed. "As much as I've tried to fight this, I have to give her up. And give you my blessing."

My breathing stopped. "What are you saying?"

He held up his hands. "I'm throwing in the white towel. She's yours. I'm going to step back and let you two progress the way you want to."

That surprise from just a moment ago? Yeah, that was back. All I could do was stare at him for a few heartbeats. "Why now?"

He smiled and tapped his temple. "You're the man now, Jacob. The man that I can trust with my daughter."

Bella appeared magically beside him, her hands around his waist and head on his shoulder. "The man that _we_ can trust." She sighed. "She can't grow if we suffocate her with rules and restrictions."

I watched them both suspiciously. "What the hell is going on?"

Bella smiled at Edward. "I watched Renesmee today as she blushed and talked about the two of you. She's a woman in love. All along we've been treating her as a normal teenager. But today, I came to the realization that she's not normal." She looked back at me. "Do you remember how we talked about how not normal I was, am?" When I nodded, she continued. "Everybody's been saying and thinking what I refused to believe, because I wanted my daughter to be normal. But she's not. Our world is so different. And you'd think that I'd start thinking that it, we, were normal after all this time, but my mind just kept going back to human pace. I just wanted my daughter to be a normal kid and then have something extraordinary happen to her the way it did to me. Now?" She smiled to herself. "I know that the something extraordinary was her love for you maturing into what it should be."

"Jake?" Nessie's voice said behind me before I could think of something to say to Bella.

I turned to find her on the stairs. She was in her pajamas and wringing her hair in a towel.

"Hey. That was a fast shower," I said taking a step toward her. Pausing, I turned to nod at Bella and Edward, who nodded back. There. We'd acknowledged our talk. They'd said what they needed to say and I'd heard them. I finished walking to her and instinctively put my hands on her hips.

She threw the towel over her shoulder, and then put her arms on my shoulders. "I was hungry. And speaking of, why aren't you eating? I know you must be starving."

I kissed her nose. "I'm fine. I was just talking to the 'rents."

She glanced around me to them, and then back to me. "And what were you talking about?"

"How parents can be blind even if they went through the same things," Bella said.

Nessie raised an eyebrow at me in question.

I shrugged. "Everybody has lost their minds today."

"Clearly."

She grinned at me, kissed me, and put her hand to my face. I didn't know she was going to show me something so I was pleasantly surprised when she showed me our scene from earlier again. She'd thought more about it while she was in the shower. This time, she showed me all of it starting the moment I'd touched her. She replayed everything, but it also felt like she was holding something back, something she didn't want me to see or know. Why would she show me something that she'd loved so much, was surprised that she'd loved so much, and still hide something from me?

But I hid my frown. This had been a perfect day, and I wasn't going to ruin it by making her uncomfortable. If she didn't want me to see it that meant that it was something that would embarrass her. I didn't want that right now.

A throat cleared behind us. "You know that just because we've agreed to let your relationship blossom that doesn't mean that we, _I_, want to see these things."

Bella laughed. Nessie blushed and immediately pulled away from me.

Further ruining the moment, my stomach growled so loudly that it could have been mistaken for a wolf. Nessie laughed and patted my stomach.

"Come on. Let's go stuff ourselves so we can complain about it later."

When she started leading me back to the dining room, Edward said, "We're going hunting. We won't be back until tomorrow." He gave me a look before taking Bella's hand and taking off out the front door.

Nessie hugged an arm around my waist. "What was that all about?"

I wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed, leaning over to kiss her hair. "You're an adult. They're finally thinking of us that way. As a legit couple."

Her lip was between her teeth. "Hmmm. I guess that's good. But that was a fast transition from overprotective to teasing us."

I shrugged. "You know vampires, always have to be fast."

We both laughed as we made our way to the dining room to eat with our friends.

**RPOV**

Jacob had eaten his entire plate plus half of mine. After the other girls and I had cleared the table, Esme had insisted that she clean the dishes. We all felt bad but she'd been persistent. So we all had sat back down and started talking about the wedding and Emily's soon-to-be baby bump. The woman was positively glowing. They couldn't decide if they wanted to find out the sex or be surprised. We'd all voted on being surprised.

A while later, everybody had gone home. Jake and I were currently curled up in my bed listening to Seth and Shelby make out next door. Jacob rolled his eyes but smiled.

I laughed against his chest. "I'm happy for them."

"Me, too. Shelby seems happy."

"Of course she does. He is the first great thing that's happened to her."

Usually he slept with some sort of shirt on, but tonight, I'd tugged it off before we got comfy so that I could curl into his warmth, against his skin. I _did_ make sure to keep my hands locked around his waist so that they wouldn't roam.

He squeezed my shoulders. "Actually, you are. If it weren't for meeting you, she'd still be in that house. She may have never met Seth."

Hmm. I'd never really thought of it that way. He was right. Sighing contentedly, I snuggled into his side.

"So, I said nonchalantly, "what was earlier about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Jake. What happened today in here with my dress and…" I blushed. "Well, what happened?"

He sighed. Before I knew what was happening, he swooped in and scooped me up. I squeaked as he sat me down over his legs, just above his knees. One of his hands rested on my hip while the other played in the ends of my hair.

"I'm tired, Nessie."

The tone is his voice had me stroking his face, neck, and chest. "Tired of what?"

"Treating us like we're love-struck, fumbling, and idiotic teenagers. We're not. We're adults who love each other and who want each other. Are we ready to…make love? Probably not. But who's ever really ready for something like that? But we're still in the discovery stage, getting used to the fact that we're now allowed to touch and caress and," he leaned forward to press a kiss to my neck, "kiss when we want."

My head automatically went back so that he could have better access. And that totally proved his point.

Suddenly, his hands gripped my hips and he flipped us so that I was beneath him. His face was shoved into my neck and hair. Those lips ran up the column of my neck all the way to the spot under my ear and back down to nuzzle the large t-shirt so he could reach my collar bone. My hands smoothed up his arms, over his shoulders, and up into his hair. I pushed his head toward me, pressed those lips into my skin.

After a moment, though, he pulled back and I let him. He supported his weight on his forearms, making the muscles stand out beautifully and powerfully as his hands stroked my face.

"I want to treat you the way a man treats his woman. The other day, at the cabin, I'd had the thought that I needed to grow up and accept responsibilities in my life. I needed to become the man in other aspects of my life first. But at the garage today, I realized that I was wrong. I needed to be the man here, with you, before I could accept any other role." He shook his head. "I'd had it all backwards. But I figured it out. Becoming your man first was always supposed to be my foundation. I had to grow to be a man from there because you have been my priority since the day I imprinted on you."

I ran my fingers over his temples and into his hair, making his chest rumble. "You needed to start with me."

"Exactly." Him stroking my hair brought forth my own version of a purr. He growled appreciatively.

I swallowed hard. "So what does that mean for us?"

His lips caressed mine. "It means that, if you're game, we could pick up where we left off last night. It means that you're dad isn't in the house tonight. We could do some more exploring, if you want."

I was stunned. I knew that he'd already explained things but I couldn't help but ask, "What brought all this on?"

He sighed again and shifted above me. His hips rested on top of mine but not heavily. He was keeping himself in check.

"Nessie, all this time you've been leading me, but it shouldn't have been that way. I should have been the adult first, helping you to transition into that stage. Instead, you've grown up. You know what you want. It's my turn to be able to say that. Besides, I know that Bella and Edward were cozy long before they got married."

"Really?" This was news to me.

He nodded, grinning. "Oh yeah. Bella was terrified of marriage, but it was Edward's idea not to dance between the sheets until they'd gotten married. I think that was his leverage for her to say yes in the first place."

Grinning back, I nodded, filing away that information. "That's good to know." I gripped his neck and pulled him down to me. "Now, come here, my man."

We crashed into each other at the same time. Our mouths were hungry for each other, our tongues sliding into each other's mouth. My mutinous hands roamed his shoulders, arms, and chest, nails digging into his skin. One of his hands reached down to grip my hip. Now I could do what I'd been wanting to do. I flipped us and, without thinking about it, I lifted the oversize shirt over my head. I had on another one of those ribbed tanks. Jacob's eyes darkened considerably and I could tell that he wasn't thinking about his actions either as he lifted his torso up off the bed to press his lips to my skin.

Again I tilted my head back as he moved across my exposed skin. The tops of my breasts felt like fire when he ghosted over them, rolling his eyes up to meet mine, asking for permission.

Swallowing my hesitancy, I nodded, gripping the back of his neck. He pressed his lips first over the top of my left breast, closer to my heart, before moving over the right side. He went as low as the shirt would allow and quickly darted his tongue out to taste my skin.

That was too much for me. The frustration, the heat, came roaring up out of its hiding place in my body. To distract him, I moved my hips forward to brush against the front of his. That was a wrong move. He hissed and his hands tightened considerably on my hips. His hips thrust up into mine and we stayed like that for a moment, our pants the only things separating us.

After a moment, he sat back. "Enough, enough," he gasped out.

I eased my body back but pressed my forehead to his, nodding. "Sorry," I whispered, my voice just as ragged as his.

He kissed my forehead and then pressed his back to mine. "Don't be. That was amazing. It's still just not the right time."

After we calmed down a little, he gently moved me off his lap telling me that he needed to use the bathroom. Uh-huh. I knew what he was going in there to do.

Five minutes later, he came back. He looked a thousand times more relaxed. I envied him. He moved onto the bed to lie beside me. I'd snuggled down into the blankets trying to calm my restless body. It was working until he pressed his body against me. Even through the covers, my body could somehow feel his as if we were skin to skin and I heated back up. The good thing was that the tightness had loosened

Jacob tightened his arm around my waist as he slid in behind me. His lips kissed my hair. "I love you, Nessie."

Looking over my shoulder, I watched him as he watched me. And it hit me that we were free. I smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. Letting my block down, I thought about it so that he could hear it with me. We were free to be a couple, free to grow together as a couple. That's what his conversation with my parents had been about. They were going to start treating us the way that they'd wanted to be treated when they'd first started dating and knowing they'd be together the rest of their lives. They were leaving us to write our own story now. They didn't know us the way that we knew each other. Their time of watering our relationship seed was over. It was up to us to grow it and love it to get it to bloom. And that's what we were doing.

He grinned at me as I closed my mind back up. "I like the sound of free," he whispered and kissed my lips softly.

"Me, too," I whispered back against his lips.

Smiling, I fell asleep surrounded by the warmth of my man, still frustrated, but with the knowledge that we were free to decide when that frustration would finally come to an end.

* * *

**What say you? Yes? No? Please review. I really do love to hear what you guys have to say. xoxoxoxoxo**


	27. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 anyone? Now that we're getting closer and closer to the end, I'm really liking these chapters. No more shyness. I love the confidence. And Shelby just keeps growing on me. And Adam and Derek are back. I know some of you like them. They're great.**

**Anywhozzle, I don't own anything.**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

I woke up with a start. I'd been dreaming of Jacob's lips in some dangerous areas that his eyes had yet to see let alone his lips get anywhere near. But I startled more when I saw that it was Shelby leaning over me instead of Jacob. She was playing with the ends of my hair leaning against the headboard.

When she saw that I was awake, she grinned. "Geez, Ness. How late did Jake keep you up last night?" she asked suggestively.

I snorted. "Really, Shelbs? You were all over Seth before your door even closed. We could hear you through the wall."

She shook the piece of my hair that she had in her hand at me. "That's not the point. We aren't talking about me."

I grinned and stretched. "Where _is_ Jacob?" I asked.

"He's on his patrol shift. Don't forget that he took Seth's for the rest of the week. Your man's going to be pulling doubles till Friday."

"Oh," I said in disappointment. I'd forgotten about that. "So, when are you and Seth leaving for wherever you're going?"

She shrugged. "Whenever your parents get back. Everybody else went hunting this morning. I think they planned it so that Edward or Jasper would be with you at all times while Jake isn't here when you're asleep. I told them to go ahead, that you'd be up soon. Jasper didn't like it, but Alice was persuasive."

I nodded. "My nightmares."

"Yeah." She suddenly grinned. "Although I don't think you were having a nightmare this morning. I think you might have been continuing on from when he left that." She nodded to me.

"Left what?"

She took my hand excitedly and pulled me up to my knees to that I could see myself in the vanity mirror. On her knees behind me, she pulled my hair away from my neck and pushed my head to the side.

And I saw it. There, on the left side of my neck, was a reddish, purplish bruise. It was right at the point where my neck met my shoulder. When I touched it, it was sensitive but in a good way.

I had a hickey.

"I don't remember this." I turned my head to look at Shelby. "I remember him being gentle, not sucking on my skin."

Shelby grinned and patted my shoulder. "That's what passion is. It's getting lost in each other."

I gave her a look as our eyes met in the mirror. "You would know?"

That grin turned wicked at the same time that she blushed. She reached up and pulled the collar of her shirt to the side. "I would know."

Turning around on my knees to face her, I saw her own set of marks. There were quite a few more than what I had and some of them were a lot darker. I followed them up her skin to her shoulder where I felt my eyes widened.

"Is that a _bite mark_?" I asked. The mark was fairly dark and deep.

She blushed. "Seth gets passionate."

I laughed. "Clearly. Is that why the two of you are taking off? Alone time?"

Sighing, she sat back on her feet. "Nessie, I want to. I want so badly for him to make love to me." Her eyes came up to meet mine. There was fear and pleading there. "But what if we get to it and I'm no good? What if he decides I'm a mistake?"

I sat back on my feet, too, and took her hands. "Shelby, listen to me. Are you listening?" I waited for her eyes to meet mine again. "There is nothing that you could ever do that would make him not want you. That bite mark tells me that he's dying to make you his." I chucked her under the chin. "And don't forget that he's a virgin, too. You'll be teaching each other. How did you teach each other to go this far?" I asked, gesturing to her neck. "You experimented and let yourselves get lost in each other. If the time is right, it will happen again. Just don't force it. Let it happen the way it's supposed to. That's what Jake and I are doing."

She sighed. "How is that you are so much smarter than me and yet, we're both still virgins? And I've gone further with Seth than you have with Jake?"

That made me laugh. "Shelby, nothing about the four of us can be explained that simply. We're just wandering around, but I think we're starting to find the right paths. We need to trust our guts. That's where we're going astray."

"I love you, Nessie. You're the bestest friend ever. Somehow you make everything make sense."

"Pfft," I said, wrapping my arms around her. "I wish I could make my life make sense."

She pulled back, keeping her arms around my waist. "About that. What's up with you lately? You seem edgy."

It was my turn to sigh. Talking about my feelings for Jake always embarrassed me. But Shelby was my best friend and I'd told her that we were in this imprint thing together. That meant talking about this kind of stuff. Not to mention that I shouldn't be so embarrassed about it now. Women always talked about their guys with their best friends. And I knew that once one of us lost our V-cards, we'd be texting or on the phone with the other talking about it when we had some alone time. If Shelby and Seth did their thing this week, I'd know before they got back.

She shook me. "Come on, Ness. Talk to me."

I moved so that my back was against the footboard. "I don't know exactly. A few days ago when Jacob and I got together, I was ok when we stopped the heavy stuff. But now?" I shook my head. "It's like my body's on fire whether he's around or not. When I start thinking about him, I get tight all over and achy. The butterflies aren't there anymore. It's like something else has taken their place, something a lot more solid. I don't know. I'm…I'm-," I just couldn't explain it though I knew I had a word for it before.

But Shelby picked up on it. "Frustrated?"

"Yes. I'm so frustrated. But not in a way that makes me mad or not want to be near Jake. Every time he touches me, I light up and the tightness loosens a bit. But then we stop and he-," I took a deep breath. "He goes to the bathroom and comes back relaxed. And I'm always still restless."

"You need release," she said, patting my hand.

"What?"

She smiled. "Nessie, you need what he gets when he 'takes a shower'." She made the little air quotes.

I understood, but then I didn't. "But…how?"

Shelby blushed and let out a small giggle. "Um, well, there are a few ways. Guys have it easy. They have their hand and two motions: up and down. But girls? Well, I mean, there are, um, products you could buy. Or…"

She made a face like she was trying to decide if she wanted to say what she was thinking.

"Or what?"

She sighed heavily. "If you and Jacob could get more comfy with each other, he could help you. It would be better than you doing it yourself."

"Is this something else that you know from experience?"

Her blush deepened. "Seth and I help each other out in that area. But you have to be comfortable telling the other person what you want, where you want, how you want, and stuff like that." She shrugged. "You two are still learning the make-out phase. But that hickey tells me that he's feeling the passion more than the shyness now." She nudged my foot with hers. "It's a good sign. Now _you_ need to get more comfy in your own skin and in Jacob's company."

I sighed. We were talking about me and Jacob getting more physical, yet we'd just had our first date yesterday. On the other hand, married people go out on dates all the time. Dad was always taking Mom out to dinner and a movie or shopping or just walking around Port Angeles. It felt like Jacob and I didn't need the preliminary dates. We needed the married people dates even though we weren't married or even engaged. And that's when I realized that I wanted to skip straight to being engaged. I wanted to skip all the dating to get to know each other. We already knew each other personally. But it was time to get to know each other physically. I wanted to explore him, but I wanted him to be comfortable with it. And I wanted him to explore me. I wanted him to _want_ to explore me. And our little moment in my room last night had told me that he wanted to do just that.

She patted my knee. "Come on, buttercup. Let's go get me packed."

"So you're going to go?"

She shrugged. "Of course. I just don't know if _that_ is going to happen. Might as well take advantage of my alone time with him though."

Ten minutes later, I was dressed in jeans and one of my ribbed tanks going through Shelby's closet. I turned to find her staring at something. The emerald green lingerie we'd bought. Reaching around her, I took the hanger off the bar and took it to her suitcase.

She followed. "Nessie, what are you doing? Don't pack that. I don't know if it's going to happen."

I shrugged. "Might as well be prepared. Shelby, if you feel like putting it on, then put it on. If not, keep it packed."

There was a knock on the opened door. When we turned, Mom was standing there smiling. "She's right, Shelby. It's good to have that stuff just in case. If it doesn't come into use, he'll never know it was there." She came into the room and hugged us both as we gave each other a questioning glance. "The two of you keep giving each other advice, but you don't _take_ your own advice."

"Mom, not that I'm complaining, but how come you and Dad are so ok with me and Jake? I mean, you were so overprotective for so long, but it's only been a couple days since we came out as a couple, and you now just look the other way when we get touchy-feely."

It must have been the day for sighs because she did. "Nessie, Jacob is and always has been a good man. He always tried to take care of me, even when I didn't want him to. But the reason I've come to accept what's happening is that you remind me of your mother."

It took me a moment to figure out what she meant. "You? How do I remind you of you?"

Mom picked up the lingerie and held it up to Shelby, making her blush. "It'll look amazing on you." Then she turned to me. "You might not want to know this, but it's the only way I know how to explain it." She sat on the bed. "When your father and I first got together, I was still human. You know that. But I couldn't get enough of him. I was, and still am, so in love with him that I just want to be with him every second of every day. I _crave_ his skin on mine. But he was old fashioned because of the era he came from. He wanted me to marry him before we got more physical than just making out and sleeping next to each other. You see, your, and I mean you and Shelby both, your relationships are nearly exact to my and Edward's. But the difference is that your boys can make love to you without risking your lives. I was human. And people lose themselves during sex. They lose control. Your father could have done some serious damage to me."

"Yeah, but you had me when you were human. So you guys, um, yeah." This was so weird talking about my parents' sex life with one of them.

She laughed. I loved that sound. It occurred to me that her laugh was one of my favorite sounds in the world. "Yeah, he made love to me when I was human, but only after I agreed to marry him. You see, he thought that he'd get out of it because he was sure that I wouldn't say yes. Marriage terrified me, especially at seventeen. But I wanted to have every human experience with him that I could before I changed into something else."

Shelby sat next to Mom as I sat at her feet. "But you did say yes."

"Obviously. It surprised him, though. But he kept our deal."

"Did he hurt you?" Shelby asked.

Mom smiled. "There were a few bruises that he wasn't happy about. He'd been convinced that he'd hurt me. I kept telling him that I liked them. In all honesty, I hadn't realized that I was going to have them because I was so caught up in the moment."

Shelby and I shared a meaningful look. She rubbed her shoulder as I rubbed mine.

"I can smell your marks, girls. But let me tell you why Edward and I have backed off to let you two be. Watching the two of you, I can see what you're feeling, that your love isn't some crush. Your love for Jacob and Seth is as real as my love for Edward. And Edward, being able to read minds, can see it, now, too. In fact, he could see it before I could. And of course, the boys wouldn't ever do anything to hurt you." She smiled at us conspiratorially. "I actually don't mind that you want to be more physical. Marriage is still just a piece of paper to me. Even if we hadn't gotten married, I'd still have taken the Cullen name and your father would have still put a ring on my finger."

I stared at her. "Mom, it's weird that your thoughts are echoing mine."

"Actually, it's not. You're my daughter growing up in the same century that I was raised in. Let me just say this: from my point of view, dating isn't always the first step. Dating is to figure out if you can handle that person in your life all the time. The two of you have skipped that. Jacob has been in your life every day of its nine years. And Shelby? Well, you and Seth really haven't been apart since you met. I think that's self-explanatory." She shrugged. "And weddings? They're just to put the rest of the world at ease. But in our world? A mate is a mate no matter what."

Shelby raised her hand. "I have a silly question."

"Go for it," Mom said with a smile.

"So why do people like hickeys? Or marks in general? Every time I'm with Seth and he- you know, I just, I love it."

This was a question that I'd love an answer to, because when I'd seen the mark on my neck, I'd felt embarrassed but that was washed away on a tide of pride and something that I would describe as power.

Mom looked thoughtful, though. "You know, I've never actually thought about it. But if I were to take a guess, it's because that mark means something. That is, if you're with someone exclusively, someone you know loves you. In our world, in a world that's still very primal, the mark means you belong to someone. In the case of the two of you, you belong to your wolves. They want you so much and they want the world to know that you belong to them, that you're their females and that they feel the need to mark you."

"So that's why they're so protective," Shelby said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They're wolves. Wolves generally mate for life, especially the dominants. Jake is alpha male and Seth is his beta but still dominant. Wolves protect their mates and any other males that get near their females?" She shook her head. "That's a bad idea for the outsider. A lot of the time, if the alpha male can't run the intruder off pack land, they'll fight. Sometimes, though, the alpha male loses and the intruder takes over the pack. If the alpha female doesn't leave, he takes her as his. It's her way of surviving."

Putting my hand to my neck, I thought about what they'd said. Now, I saw my mark differently. Jacob had marked me as his own. I wasn't sure if he knew that he'd done it. He might not have seen it before he'd left. But even the thought that he'd done it unconsciously made my body warm and tighten. And suddenly my nails itched to dig into his skin with pleasure.

When the three of us had come out of our own thoughts, we all got up and helped Shelby pack for the small getaway. She seemed more relaxed now after my mom had given us a sort of blessing. She'd even let Mom see Seth's bite mark. Mom was a little shocked that Seth was capable of that. He always seemed so sweet and gentle. Showed us what we knew about him.

Naturally, Mom had wanted to see the mark Jacob had given me. When she'd seen it, she laughed. "I thought so," she'd said, nodding. "I could always see the passion there when he gripped you to him."

"Not to mention, like I said," Shelby had piped up. "Jake is alpha male. He'll be extra aggressive when the time comes. Of course, he'll probably be gentle the first time, but you guys must have been a little more than a little passionate last night."

I'd blushed and zipped her bag up.

An hour later, I was sitting on the floor next to the couch. Seth and Shelby had left not long after our girl talk. I'd given her a hug and whispered, "Good luck," as they walked out the door. And Jacob had walked in not five minutes after they'd left. I'd pulled my hair over the mark to cover it. I didn't want him to see it yet. Not to mention that he looked so dead tired that I knew I wouldn't be able to return the favor.

At the moment he was passed out on the couch, imitating a chainsaw. One of his arms had fallen off the edge of the couch and I ended up tracing the lines of his palm gently while he slept. These hands that could be so demanding were totally limp and lifeless except for the heartbeat and pumping blood. Putting my hand against his, I stretched out his fingers, comparing sizes. I had long fingers but his hand was bulkier.

His fingers tensed over mine, intertwining with mine. Surprised, I looked over to see Jacob watching me. I hadn't noticed that he'd stopped snoring. His eyes were hooded with sleep, and maybe something else.

"Feel better?" I asked.

He nodded and pulled on my hand. "Come here," he said in a husky voice.

I got up onto my knees and leaned my torso over him. His eyes flicked down to my exposed cleavage as he kissed my fingers before using his other hand on the back of my neck to pull my lips to his. At first, it was just a hello kiss, but it quickly turned into more. It was like the fact that we'd been separated all day had made us hungry for one another. First, it was just lips. Then our tongues darted into the dance. Once Jacob felt my tongue slide over his, though, his teeth nipped at my lips and a low growl started in his chest. As he pulled me closer, my breasts rubbed against his side. His growl got louder.

Using his hand at my neck, he tugged to let me know that he wanted me to move. I followed the tug to find that he was pulling me onto the couch, on top of him. Keeping our lips together, he released my hand so that he could put that one at my neck and the other one at my thigh. He lifted my leg and swung it over his hips. Instead of lying on top of him, which seemed too intimate, I braced my arms on either side of him on the couch and stayed on my hands and knees.

When he pulled back for air, breathing hard, his eyes went down to my cleavage again. His eyes met mine, and I was ready for the moment he surged up off the couch the way he'd done last night. He came up so fast that I sat down on his lap as he crushed his mouth to mine once more. But it didn't stay there long. More of my skin was exposed due to the tank and his lips were apparently hungry for more of what he'd had a taste of last night. Closing my eyes, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, dug my fingers into his hair and tilted my head accordingly when his lips moved over my skin. He kissed my breasts where they were exposed over the line of the shirt, this time with more certainty than the last time we'd done this.

Yesterday, he'd darted his tongue out to lick my shoulder when he was undressing me. But today, that tongue of his flicked out to taste the skin of my breast. And slowly, bravely, he pushed his tongue below the edge of the tank, tasting what he couldn't see, but not quite to the tightening center.

My heart rate skyrocketed. Heat raced through my body at a million miles an hour. I was sure that my skin should have burned his, it was so hot. When he made to move to the other side and repeat, I tilted my head back again, making my hair fall back over my shoulder. As Jacob's tongue did his darting dance, my nails dug into the skin of his shoulders. Another growl rumbled in his chest.

I opened my eyes as he pulled back. My eyelids felt like they weighed a million pounds. I probably looked the way he had when I'd first met his eyes after waking him up. Suddenly his eyes flicked to the side of my neck, and a small frown appeared.

He lifted his hand to the mark, pressing on it. "Is that-?"

"A hickey?" I finished for him. "Yeah."

His fingers went to his lips, touching them, as if he couldn't believe that they had been the reason for the mark. "I don't remember doing that."

For some reason that was hysterical to me. I started laughing and I couldn't stop. Jake gave me a look.

"I don't see why that's so funny."

I put one hand to my stomach in an effort to try to stifle the laughter long enough to talk. "I just think it's funny that we both got so caught up in each other that we didn't realize you were sucking on me."

He blushed and looked away. "Sorry," he mumbled.

The laughter had subsided but I still smiled as I put my hand to his cheek. It made him look at me. "Don't be. I like it."

Surprise flashed in his eyes. "Really?" When I nodded, he looked at it and asked, "Does it hurt?" His fingers came up to investigate it. He poked, prodded, and rubbed it gently.

I shook my head. "It's sore, but it's the good kind of sore. Reminds me of you and of how much I want you to do it again."

His eyes snapped to mine. "What?"

I nodded with surety. "I want you to mark me. It makes me feel like I belong to you."

A grin spread over his lips, his eyes darkened, and his hands gripped my waist. I closed my eyes and breathed hard, biting my lip. "You _do_ belong to me, don't you?"

"Of course I do." I really wanted him to say that he belonged to me. I _needed_ to hear him admit that.

And sure enough, "Well, I belong to you, too." Relief flooded through me, loosening some of the tension. And his fingers kept up their torturous circuit on my neck. "I want you to mark me before I mark you again."

It was my turn to flick my eyes up to his in surprise and ask, "What?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, nodding. "Mark me, Nessie. Make me yours in that way. Give me something I can show off."

I studied his face. "What has gotten into you?" I asked in wonder.

He squeezed my waist. "I told you. I'm tired of acting like a stupid teenager. I want to tell you what I want. And that's what I want from you."

Studying him for a moment longer, I nodded. Kissing him, I whispered, "Ok," against his lips.

**JPOV**

Nessie kissed me one more time, and then stood up, holding her hand out to me. "Let's go upstairs. I want to be as alone as we can get."

Edward and Bella had run off to their cottage to have some alone time, but Adam and Derek were stationed at the front and back doors of the house. They really did take Nessie's safety seriously, which I approved of.

Agreeing with her, I took her hand and let her lead me upstairs. I loved it when she walked in front of me. Somehow she knew that I was infatuated with her hips, and I could see that she put a little sway into her walk, probably for my benefit.

As soon as her door closed behind me, she was on me. She'd jumped, knowing that my reflexes were good enough to catch her. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her legs around my waist. Those full lips of hers were buried in the space just under my jaw pressing surprisingly gentle kisses there.

When I'd caught her, my hands had automatically gripped her butt. And seeing as how she wasn't complaining, I kept my hands there, fingers digging in a little. She groaned a little against my throat. Walking us to the bed, I brought one hand up to sweep her hair to the side before dumping us on the mattress. I didn't want her hair to pull and hurt her if we landed on it.

It didn't matter though. Somehow we ended up with my back against the footboard and her straddling my thighs. My hands had automatically moved to her hips. Her nails scraped my scalp, making my chest rumble, as she worked her lips against my skin.

It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that this was actually happening. I couldn't believe that I couldn't remember sucking on her skin enough to give her that hickey. And I sure as hell couldn't believe that she was about to give me one of my very own. But, man, did I want it. I wanted her to mark me. I wanted everybody to know that we were together and that I didn't mind being marked up by my woman.

She pulled back long enough to slide her hands down my chest and stomach to the hem of my tank, the same one that matched hers. Her hands tugged the shirt up and over my head. I lifted my arms obediently. When I brought them back down, I caressed her face, bringing her lips to mine. The need to kiss her was an aching burn in my stomach.

I hadn't realized how hungry I was for her until her warm lips touched mine. I opened my mouth to let her tongue slide inside. _Ecstasy _was the only word I could think of that could describe it, the taste, the feeling. Her nails scraped over my newly bared skin and I could feel my muscles tense under her hands. She dug in deeper. My hands slid up her back and under the tank to press against her bare skin.

Closing my eyes, I could remember what her back had looked like unobstructed. It was the most perfect expanse of skin that I had ever seen, and it felt so good under my hands.

Nessie was making her way around my neck and chest with her lips, arching her back instead of moving back on my legs. She stopped at the spot over my heart and went to work.

I'd never felt anything like this. The moment she started sucking on my skin, I hissed through my teeth and willed my hips not to buck up into hers. My hands on her back lifted her shirt up, and since she was bent over my chest, I watched as her skin was revealed to me. Eventually, I came to her bra strap. And the urge to unhook it almost won over my will to stay as decent as was possible in this situation. After a moment of fighting my mutinous fingers, I won…for the most part. My skin and I agreed that we didn't want to lose contact with her skin so I settled with slipping my hands under the strap. She groaned as she continued to suck, kiss, and lick my skin.

How the hell had I been so shy with her? This was incredible, being with her like this. As she arched into my hands, I had to pull them away from her. Instead, I pushed my fingers into her hair to give them something to do. But there was no need for that.

She sat up, breathing hard, lips red and puffy. Reaching down, she pulled off her shirt and threw it over next to mine.

My eyes widened as she knelt there in front of me in just her bra and jeans. "Ness, I don't-,"

She put her hand on the back of my neck, pulling me forward. "Shut up, Jacob," she gasped out. Nessie pushed my face toward her. "Mark me again, Jacob. I want your mouth on me. Just mark me. Nothing else has to happen."

I thought that maybe she was just caught up in the moment, but one look in her eyes told me that I was wrong. She wanted this. She wanted us to mark each other tonight. This time we were aware of what was happening. No surprising marks. She wanted to consciously belong to me like I now visibly belonged to her.

My eyes went from hers to the mark on her neck and then moved down. I didn't really know bras but I knew it wasn't a push-up. However, it still offered her up, barely covering the necessities. I couldn't help but notice that her breasts were full and round, and looked utterly kissably soft. I wanted more than anything to get lost in her scent, her skin…her. To press my lips to what I was seeing…and what I wasn't.

But instead, I leaned in and pressed my lips to the mark that I'd already left. Her head went back with a sigh. Making sure to kiss every inch of her skin that I could see, I brushed my lips over her, never leaving her skin. When I hit a certain spot under her right ear, her hips jerked, brushing against mine. My self-control slipped. I moved so fast that I wasn't quite sure how we got where we ended up. She was on her back, her head on the pillows, hair fanned out around her. My hips ground into hers while I kissed and nipped at her exposed skin, growling.

Moving down, I brushed my lips over the exposed skin of her breasts, which made her shiver under me. Wanting desperately to move the cups of the bra, but not daring to, I kissed my way back up her chest to the spot just above her heart and sucked gently on her skin. She sighed again and arched her back. Taking advantage of that, I slid an arm under her and held her to my mouth. Her hands came around to grab onto my shoulders, her nails digging in. As I caressed her skin, her hips kept coming up to meet mine. Where that would have made me uneasy before, now it was completely comfortable, natural. And really f'n hot.

Her hands tugged at my hair, trying to pull me up. I followed her movements, and she led me to her mouth. Our lips connected hotly, and I gripped her hip hard just above the low rise of her jeans. Her nails dug into my back.

A knock sounded at the door.

We ignored it.

It came again.

"What?!" I snarled, breaking away from Nessie and breathing hard. Nessie was also breathing hard but she stroked my shoulder and arm, shushing me.

There was a pause as if whoever it was didn't want to get yelled at. Then, Derek's voice, "I'm sorry to interrupt, Jake. I really am, but this patrol shift is about to end, which means that you and Leah are up next."

I cursed, but that brought me back to myself. Kissing Nessie gently, I sat back on my knees that were positioned between her legs and looked down at her. Her chest was heaving with her deep, ragged breaths. Those pretty eyes were closed but there was a smile on her face. The mark I'd left on her shoulder had gotten darker with more attention. And the mark that I'd just given her? The spot was red, but I could see the beginnings of the bruise. From the looks of it, it was going to be a doozy and probably take up half her chest. I licked my lips trying to taste the lingering salt of her skin.

And then I looked down at my own chest. It was already bruised and still darkening. She'd done a number on me as well. The spot over my heart was deep blue leading into black. It looked terrible but I loved it. Smiling to myself, I jumped off the bed. Nessie was still glowing and coming down off her high, so I threw one of her throw blankets over her before I opened the door.

"Hey. I'll be on my way out in a sec, ok?"

His eyebrows shot up as he got a look at my chest, but he nodded and turned back to the stairs. I heard him chuckle as he shook his head. Closing the door again, I went back to the bed and knelt beside it. Nessie had snuggled down into the blanket and pillows. She was still smiling softly as I stroked her hair.

"Hey, you ok?" I asked.

She nodded. "So ok, Jake. That was…that was amazing. Thank you."

I reached for the blanket. "Here, let me see." She let me lift it off her chest. I tried to hold back my flinch. In the moments since I'd last seen it, the bruise had spread over her chest and down toward the bra. That was going to take some time to heal. "Man, Ness. I'm sorry."

Panic flowed over her face as she sat up quickly. "No! Don't you dare be sorry about this." She put her hand over the mark. "I _love_ this, Jacob." I must have still flinched in some way because her eyes turned sad as she reached out to gently stroke my own version of her bruise. "I guess you're not too fond of yours, then. It won't happen again."

She started to roll over with tears in her eyes. I gripped her wrist and kept her facing me. "Nessie, don't. I love this, too. I just…I don't like thinking that I hurt you."

"Did I hurt _you_?" she whispered.

I shook my head fervently. "Absolutely not. It was the most amazing thing I've ever felt."

She grinned but the look in her eyes told me she didn't quite believe me. "Really?"

I nodded. "Oh, yeah."

"Good. Then you know how good getting mine felt."

All I could do was stare at her as she leaned back into the pillows, smiling at me. I shook my head in wonder. "How the hell did I live without you?"

She grinned, leaned up, and pressed a kiss to my lips. "Miserably," she whispered.

"Apparently," I whispered back, pressing a soft kiss against her. I sat back to press my forehead against hers. "I gotta go."

"I know." She placed her hand on my cheek and flooded my mind with emotion. Love, lust, wonder, and content. _I love you,_ she whispered into my head.

Pressing her hand to my face, I said, "I love you, too."

Then, I knew I had to go. I ripped myself away from her with more difficulty than I'd like to admit and went for the door.

When I shut the door behind me, I found Leah leaning against the wall. She grinned at me, eyes glancing down at my chest.

"'Bout time, lover boy."

I wasn't sure if she meant about me finally getting with Nessie, or about me coming out for the patrol shift. Either way, she was right. Smiling at her, we walked side by side down the hallway knowing full well that I'd left my shirt in Nessie's room for a reason.

I wore my mark with pride.

**A couple weeks later. Early November:**

**RPOV**

That first night without Jacob or Shelby there had been a rough one. I'd been dreaming of me and Jake on my bed, our moment of marking each other still strong in my head, when it had morphed into my nightmare. Except we were no longer in that clearing. We were in my room and Jacob was dead on the blankets, his blood staining the sheets.

Even though I'd known I was dreaming, I couldn't seem to wake myself up. My breathing had become uneven and a scream had been building in the back of my throat. But then the world had started shaking, confusing me. That's when my subconscious must have picked up that I was being shaken awake.

Slowly, I'd drifted back into the world of reality to find Dad staring down at me, worry in his eyes. He'd kept his promise to Jake by waking me up. And I'd appreciated it. He'd had to do it several times that night.

I hadn't heard from Shelby other than her text telling me that they'd made it to their destination. Jacob was on patrol until late. After the first time I'd been woken up, I went down to find Aunt Alice sprawled on the floor with sketches and pictures surrounding her. There had been a sketchpad in front of her and a pencil in her hand. After a while of watching her sketch something, shake her head, and then throw it away, I was ready for bed again.

The cycle had continued until the last day of Jake's double shifts. Once Jacob had left for the last of the evening shifts, Dad had followed me to my room.

"Nessie, honey, let me call him back. He can sub in another wolf for this one shift."

I shook my head. "No. No more of that, Dad. I've got to learn to be without him sometimes. I can't spend every waking moment with him."

His eyes turned pleading. "But you need sleep, sweetie."

"I _have been_ sleeping," I'd said, snuggling down into the blankets. "He'll be back later tonight just like the other days. The nightmares don't come back when he comes back to me. Just keep waking me up until he gets here."

He'd sighed and closed my door. Later that night, after having been woken up a couple times by Dad, I'd been woken up by an angry Jacob getting into bed beside me. Still half asleep, I'd stroked his chest over the mark that I had brought back to life that afternoon.

"What's wrong?" I'd asked sleepily.

I'd barely caught his glare. "Do you really think that I wouldn't figure out you were having nightmares again? Your dad was right. I could have gotten a sub. They would have understood."

That had woken me up, and we'd fought about it from there.

Seth and Shelby had come back on Saturday practically glowing. They didn't even have to tell us what had happened. We'd all already known. But Sunday came and Shelby hadn't yet tried to talk to me about it. I'd guessed she was still trying to get over the shock of it actually happening.

Halloween had come and gone. Aunt Alice had thrown a party for the vampire families and the wolves. It had been a success and way more than just fun.

The weather had turned much colder. Our warm days were over and snow was always threatening to mix with the rain drizzle.

Right now, I was sitting on my bed cross-legged flipping through a magazine when a knock came at the door.

"What's up, Shelby?" I called. I knew it was her by the scent of her perfume coming through the door.

She came bursting in a moment later. "Oh my god, I can't stand this anymore." She came to stand next to the bed, arms crossed, and glared at me. "Why haven't you asked me?"

I blinked up at her in surprise. "I just figured you'd talked to me when you were ready to. I didn't know that you wanted me to bug you to death."

Suddenly grinning, she jumped onto the bed, landing on her knees. I used the bouncing mattress to my advantage, bouncing my back against the headboard.

"Nessie, it was amazing. Seth was…he was fantastic."

I grinned back. "You didn't make him change his mind? Come on, tell me all about it, Shelbs."

Launching into the story, I watched her as I listened. She was literally glowing. Her eyes were bright and happy. It looked as if the moment had erased every bad thing that had ever happened to her. Her shoulders had straightened out, almost like she'd always hunched in on herself to keep from getting beaten. I hadn't noticed it before. But I did now that I could see her relaxed and holding her head up.

Apparently, Seth hadn't planned on sex happening. He'd made plans to go eat, see movies, and walk around town. But one night that he'd planned for them to go out to eat, Shelby had felt comfortable enough to slip into the lingerie while he was getting ready in the bathroom. Seth had walked out to find her lying on the bed with the room service menu. Needless to say, I was pretty sure that Seth had had Shelby for dinner that night.

She sighed dreamily. "I've never felt so close to anyone in my entire life. I belong to someone now."

I took her hand in mine. "And he belongs to you. Do you feel like this cements your relationship?"

Looking away from me, she blushed. "Oh, yeah."

"What? What is it?"

"He wouldn't let me sleep that night," she whispered.

My eyebrows shot into my hairline as a grin spread over my face. "He kept coming back for more?"

She nodded. "It's like he was insatiable."

Leaning forward, I hugged her. "That's great, Shelby. Of course he couldn't get enough of you. He loves you and you've finally given him something that you've never given anybody. That's pretty big, Shelbs."

She hugged me back. "I know. Now," she said, pulling away. "I've told you mine. Tell me yours." Her hand and eyes motioned at my chest where the mark was still visible. Jake and I had come to be attached to them, so neither one of us let them fade out.

"Well, they happened the night you left, between Jake's patrol shifts. He hadn't known about the first one either until he saw it. And then, get this, he was surprised when I told him that I wanted him to do it again. After we'd talked about it, he said that he wanted me to mark him before he did to me again."

She sighed and flopped back on the bed. "It was hot, wasn't it? Did the windows steam up?"

I laughed. "I honestly couldn't tell you. I was too caught up in him."

She laughed. "Of course you were. So what are you up to today?"

"Well, I actually need to head up to the cabin real quick. I think I left one of my sweaters up there. And then, today is my day to hunt."

"Ah yes, you and your vampire diet. But you know that Adam and Derek aren't here. Jake gave them the day off. My bodyguard is here. But the only other wolf here is Paul. He's getting his tux made by Alice."

I sighed. "Hmm, I could probably get Paul to make a quick trip with me. Alice could work on Rachel's dress. Where is your man?"

She grinned. "Down at the garage. He's been taking some extra shifts there lately." She checked her watch. "I actually have a lunch date with him soon. Where's yours?"

"On his patrol shift."

We got up from the bed and stretched.

"Ness?"

"Yeah?"

"There's one thing about being with Seth that kind of worries me a little."

I looked at her. "What? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing like that. It's just-," she fidgeted.

Putting my hands on her shoulders, I ducked so she'd meet my eyes. "Shelby, what is it?"

She sighed. "They can't wear condoms."

All I could do was blink at her. "What?"

"Nessie, they can't wear condoms. Their body temps are too high. It melts the latex. Not to mention," she blushed furiously, "the friction would heat them up even more."

"So, that means…"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Did he tell you about the condoms before you did anything?"

"Oh, yeah. And not right before we got down to it." She shuffled her feet. "That was one of my worries that I didn't tell you about. He'd told me back when we'd first started getting serious about it."

"Well, do you regret being with him like that?"

She shook her head. "No. Not at all. I'm just worried."

I squeezed her to me. "About getting pregnant?"

She nodded. "What if I do get pregnant? What if I'm a terrible mother?"

Leaning back, I stared at her. "Are you crazy? Do you seriously think that you'd end up being like your mom?"

She flinched. "What if that type of thing is genetic?"

I shook her. "Quit with the what ifs, Shelby. Look, I know that once is all it takes, but even if you did get pregnant from this time around, you'd be a great mother. I know you. You'd never leave Seth. And you sure as hell would never leave a child that you made with him. You know what it's like to have your mother leave you, and it hurt you. I could never see you leaving a child. Ever. And I wouldn't let you."

She hugged me around the waist. "Promise?"

Squeezing her again, I kissed her hair. "I swear, Shelby. I'd never let you make that stupid of a decision. But I wouldn't have to. You'd never even think about it once that baby was in your arms."

She sighed and pulled back. "I still don't want to get pregnant right now, though. But don't tell Seth that."

I laughed. "Don't worry. And thanks for the heads up."

"I figured you might want to know. Jacob may not know that. Sam told Seth while they were in human form. And from the sound of it, they all recite the alphabet backwards and forward to keep from thinking about it when they phase."

"Of course. They don't want the pack to know every detail of their lives."

She nodded. "I know. Seth promised me that he'd think about every mechanical thing he could muster when he did patrols."

That made me laugh. "Well, why don't we get down there so you can grab Jordan."

She sighed. "It's so weird to have bodyguards."

Ten minutes later, we were both dressed and heading for the stairs. What we saw in the living room had us hiding grins in each other's shoulder. Paul was in the middle of the living room, standing on a chair. His chest was bare, but he was standing there in what resembled a pair of black slacks. There were pins sticking out of it at the hems.

He was mumbling under his breath. Aunt Alice shook a pin at him. "If you don't stop your grumbling, I'm going to poke you again."

"I hate clothes."

"Yeah, yeah. So do all the other wolves. Now stop moving."

"I can't help it. It itches."

Jordan chuckled and shook his head from one of the recliners. "Tough luck, man."

She stood up straight and poked him in the arm with a pin. "Stop. Moving."

"Paul," I said. He looked up at me. "You best do what she says. The sooner she can get the pins in, the sooner you're back in your sweats."

When he glanced at my aunt, she nodded. "She's right. And I'm almost done."

She was right. Not ten minutes later, she instructed him on how to take the pants off and sent him on his way with his beloved sweats. Shelby said her goodbyes before leaving to go find Seth with Jordan right behind her.

"She looks better," Aunt Alice said as the front door closed. "She had her moment with Seth, didn't she?"

I nodded.

"You know, I'm starting to think that the imprint is more than just an invisible bond. It looks like it also runs to the physical."

"What do you mean?"

She motioned to the door. "She doesn't just look happy. She looks healthy. There's color to her skin, a shine in her eyes, and she doesn't hunch anymore."

So it hadn't just been me to notice the changes.

"You changed, too, when you came back from the cabin with Jake."

I nodded again. "Shelby and Emily said something about it. I saw it."

"Saw what?" Paul asked as he came back into the living room. He looked a thousand times more comfy now. Hurriedly, he handed Aunt Alice the pinned pants.

"Hey, Paul, could you do me a favor?"

He didn't hesitate. "Sure. What's up?"

"Jake gave Adam and Derek the day off, but I need to go up to the cabin. I left something there. And today's my hunting day. Jacob won't be off patrol for another hour or so."

He nodded. "Sure, I could use a good run. Standing still for an hour is not my idea of a good time."

I smiled at him and then turned to Aunt Alice. "We'll be back in a little while. Can you handle that?"

She huffed at me. "Are you kidding? I'll be so busy that I won't notice that you're missing."

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks, Aunt Alice."

She grinned, going for the garment back lying across the couch. "I'm kidding. If your parents ever surface from the cottage, I'll let them know."

"Thanks." I kissed her cheek and motioned for Paul. He said his goodbyes and thanks to Aunt Alice and followed me out the kitchen door.

"So where to first?"

"The cabin. It's closer than our hunting spots."

"Alright. Race ya."

I rolled my eyes again. "Come on, Paul. You don't have a prayer against me. Jacob and Dad are the only two that can beat me."

He shrugged, loosening his shoulders. "Can't blame a wolf for trying."

I sunk into a crouch as he phased, shredding the sweats. I shook my head. "On my count. Three…two…one!"

Together we darted off into the woods, dodging roots and limbs. The air was chilly and bit at my exposed skin. I had stayed in just my tank so that I could wear my sweater when we picked it up. The mark Jacob had given me showed over the low neckline. Behind me, Paul growled and yipped playfully as I beat him to the clearing around the cabin.

"You stay out here," I huffed. "You ripped your damn sweats."

He yipped and pawed at the ground, prancing around like a puppy. Shaking my head, I laughed as he pounced around me. I'd never seen him this happy, this playful. Rachel had been working her magic on him. Of course, agreeing to marry him was probably a factor of it.

I patted him on the head. "I'll be right back. You stay here," I said in a baby voice. His tongue came out to lick my cheek. "Good boy," I said, laughing.

Still shaking my head, I ran up the steps to the door. The porch light was on which meant the power had come back on. I went inside to find that some of the lights were on. Hmm. Maybe Jake and I had forgotten to flip some switches before we left.

I headed for the stairs that led down into the master bedroom. Halfway down, I heard a voice and a sound that I'd only recently become acquainted with: a sucking sound. I wasn't quite sure why I didn't say anything to let whoever it was know that they weren't alone, but I didn't Instead, I continued quietly down the stairs until I was two steps up from the floor.

What I saw froze me for a moment. Adam was standing, his back slightly to me. But I could still see Derek's profile kneeling down in front of him. Adam's eyes were closed, his hands bunched up into fists. He was making a hissing sound between his teeth as his body slightly jerked toward Derek and his chest pumped with shallow breaths.

When the sucking sound came again, my brain clicked the pieces together. The blush rushed up my face so hard and fast that I was sure I was going to pass out. I turned around on the stairs.

"Nessie?" I heard Adam nearly shout. There was a frantic shuffling behind me.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," I yelled as I ran back up to the kitchen.

"Nessie, wait!" Adam yelled as I headed for the door. "Don't leave. Please. Let us explain."

That stopped me. What was there to explain? They were having a private moment that I'd interrupted. I turned to find them standing at the top of the stairs. Adam was still breathing hard and Derek's hair was mussed.

"We're sorry that you saw that. We didn't think that anybody was going to come up here."

"Why are you sorry? _I'm_ the one who should be sorry. I should have called out to let anybody know I was here."

Derek gave me a confused look. "You're not angry? Or anything?"

"I'm embarrassed, but not angry. Why would I be?"

He didn't answer me. Instead, Adam said, "Please don't say anything. Don't tell Jake."

I looked at him sharply. I'd made a promise not to keep secrets. "What? Why not?"

"He might tell us that we can't be together. Passing on the wolf gene is important, but I don't want to be with a female. I want to be with Derek. I mean, we'll understand if you don't want us as guards anymore. But-,"

I held my hand up. "Adam, have you met Jake? Honestly, he'd never keep two people apart who love each other." I shook my head and grinned. "In all reality, I can't believe I hadn't seen it between the two of you before. How hard the two of you must be trying to keep it a secret. It's amazing that you have. But Jake needs to know. I can't keep that from him." Derek started to say something but I kept going. "Let me talk to him. He'll listen to me. And don't be stupid. Of course I still want you two as my guards."

They glanced at each other in surprise.

"What? Did you two think that this would change how I see you?"

Derek shrugged. "It usually does."

I laughed. "Ok, have you met _me_? Before I just found this out, you were still this way. I knew you then. I know you now. It changes nothing. And that'll be the same for Jacob. Let me talk to him."

They shared another look. That look told me everything that I needed to know. They were madly in love with each other. And it occurred to me that they never touched when they were around us. I'd catch them glancing at each other as they sat across the room from the other. I'd just thought that it had been the best friend communication thing. But no. It was a lover thing. The same thing that Jake and I had, that Shelby and Seth had.

"You'd do that for us?" Adam asked.

"Of course. You deserve to be together just as much as any other couple does. I'll fight for that."

"Thank you," they said at the same time, both choked up.

It was then that I saw my sweater flung over one of the chairs in the kitchen. "And that's what I came here for."

"Yeah we found that mixed in with the sheets downstairs."

I grabbed it and then went for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Hunting now. Paul's out there waiting for me."

Derek gulped hard. "Paul's out there?"

They shared another worried glance.

I went to them, placing a hand on a cheek each. "Listen. I will take care of this. I'll take care of you. Don't worry about it."

Adam pressed my hand to his face. "You really are our Alpha female, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "I'm not quite sure what that entails, but I think I'm learning. All I know is that I am going to do my best to take care of the pack in any way I can. I'll talk to Jake. And if Paul heard anything, I'll talk to him. Now, you two stay here and be together."

"Are you sure? We can go with you."

I shook my head. "Nope. The two of you have been following me and Jake around for too long. You need a break. If you want, you can come find us when you're done. I don't know how long it will take. I'm kind of hungry."

They laughed and both moved in for a hug at the same time. I put an arm around each of their waists and squeezed them.

"You guys are still the best."

"Jacob couldn't have imprinted on a better female," Derek said.

"Amen to that," Adam conceded.

I caught their look. "You guys can kiss if you want. It won't bother me any."

They both laughed again.

"I think we've had all the audience we can handle for one day. But thank you," Adam said, kissing my forehead.

Kissing them on the cheek, I went for the door. "I'll see you guys later, ok?"

"We'll meet up with you and Paul."

Grinning, I closed the door and went in search of food.

* * *

**So, tell me what you think? I would like to take this time to acknowledge that one reader and reviewer was unhappy with my response to his/her review. Right now, I would like to say a sincere apology to anybody who feels that I was rude in any responses that I made. Any author can tell you that sometimes getting critiqued can make us defensive. If I sounded that way in any message, I sincerely apologize. I love your reviews. I love that you guys try to guess what's going to happen, that you have your own ideas about what should happen. But as the author of this story, I know how I want it written. I know what's going to happen. If you want a scene a certain way, feel free to re-write it and send it to me if you feel it's necessary, but please don't belittle me for writing what's in my head. And don't belittle the characters to me. If you don't like one of them, that's fine. I read books all the time where I end up hating a character, but I try to remember that that author is a published author. They've made a name for themselves, so I go with their judgment calls. But thank you to all of you who read this. Again, my apologies for any rudeness on my part. -Laura**


	28. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26. I rather think this may be an epic chapter. Well, it is to me. And a lot of you have been guessing that "this" was going to happen! And a lot of you have been waiting for "that" to happen. Well, here it is. As a note though, I really love this chapter.**

**I still don't own the Twilight universe. :(**

**Please enjoy my take on it though!**

* * *

**JPOV**

Something was wrong. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was an itch between my shoulders. The smell of snow, cold and sharp, filled my nose though there wasn't a flurry in sight. Scanning the woods, I saw nothing. All the small animals had scurried into their holes for the winter.

Leah and I had come across the scent of a human that was fresh along with a different scent that I wasn't familiar with but burned my nose. I hadn't liked how far into our territory it was considering that that particular area wasn't a prime hunting spot for humans. The Cullens always hunted in that area, including Nessie. I'd stayed there for a while just watching.

After a while of absolutely nothing, I'd gotten back to running. Now, my shoulders were itching. It reminded me of the night that I'd been carrying Nessie back home. I'd felt like I was being watched.

_Yeah, I'm getting that feeling, too_, Leah said. _Every time I pass that spot, I feel like I'm being watched, but I never see anything._

I whined a little in unease. _How's everything up there?_

_Cold, but fine. No sign of that one wolf. You said he was white, right?_

_Yeah. I forgot Nessie didn't get a chance to show you. I can't quite remember what he looks like. But I'd know him if I saw him._

_It's alright. I'm sure I'll recognize him from what I can see from you._

_Well, keep a sharp eye. I don't like the feeling I'm having._

_Guys, I felt it too the other day when I was running,_ Christa finally chimed in. I was wondering where she'd been.

_What do you mean? Why didn't you say anything?_

I felt her flinch at my tone. _I wasn't running patrol. I just thought that it was some weird thing at the time. It wasn't until you said something that I put it together. I'm sorry, Jacob._

I breathed deep. Technically, it wasn't her fault. _It's alright, but for future reference let me know anything weird that you catch._

_Yes, sir._

_Stop with the 'sir' stuff, Christa. It's just Jacob._

_Ok._

_Jake, _Leah said._ Your phone is ringing._

Sure enough, when I paid attention to my surroundings instead of inside my head, I heard my phone. I must have heard in subconsciously and she must have heard it in my mind. It was the generic tone meaning that I didn't know who exactly was calling me. I let it go to voicemail, but it just started up again.

_I'm phasing back to see who it is. They won't stop calling._

_Go for it. We'll be alright._

I phased. There was no need to worry about clothes, but it sure as hell was a little chilly out here. I unwrapped the phone from my ankle and checked the screen. Confused at the name, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Black-,"

"Jacob, just Jacob." I'd been telling the old man that for months.

"Jacob, we have a problem up here."

I grew suspicious at the lack of panic in his voice. "Problem? You don't sound like you have a problem."

"Well, we do. We need you up here as soon as possible." That voice was calm as a summer creek. And old as dirt.

I sighed. "Fine, but this better be important."

"Oh, it is, Jacob. It is." And the bastard hung up. Nice manners.

After tying the phone back, I phased out again.

_What's up, Jake? _Sean asked. He'd paired up with Christa.

_Hey, man. That was the chief of the Makah rez. He said they have a problem up there but the man was calm as a freaking rock._

_You need back up?_

_Nah. You stay down here with the girls. Keep running the patrol. Something's off._

_Sure thing. Hurry back though. It might start snowing soon, and I don't want my pack leader up there alone all night._

_Thanks._

I'd started running as soon as I'd phased. It wouldn't take me long to get to the outskirts of the reservation. Sure, I was tired, but my mind and body were both in alert mode. Adrenaline washed through me, keeping me awake. So I put on a burst of speed. I wanted to get back to Nessie as soon as possible.

Before I knew it, I was passing that damn cabin that they'd had me stay in. I didn't get very far after that. A group of men were standing in a huddle, clearly waiting on me. Some of them were sketchy standing there with their hands behind their backs. It was then that I realized I recognized the human scent on the wind down in our territory. And I didn't like the meaning behind it. The other scent was still a mystery. Standing before them at my full height, I was very close to being taller than them. I raised my hackles in warning before I phased to human.

"What do you want? What is this?"

The tribe chief stepped forward. He was surprisingly agile for an old guy. His dark eyes were as sharp and alert as twenty-year old's.

"Jacob, when Sam called to ask us if your little half-breed friend could come to help with negotiations, you or Sam never mentioned that you were courting her. That you were going to take her as a mate."

Narrowing my eyes in his direction, I couldn't help but notice the way he'd used the past tense. Or the way that he sounded so sure about it, as if he knew things that were going on in _my_ territory that he shouldn't.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I growled out.

Those old eyes flared with hatred as they flicked down to the mark on my chest. "She's half of what our enemy is, and you want to mate with her? You want to create yet another half-breed with her? How unstable would a child between the two of you be? What would you bring into this world?"

I stepped forward. "Nessie isn't like that. She's not like the cold ones that came across our tribes long ago. She's sweet. And she cares for my people, my wolves. You have no right to tell me who I can and cannot mate with. If you don't want the peace treaty or anything to do with us, that's fine. But don't insinuate anything against her or her family."

"Or what?" he demanded in a cold voice.

When I stepped forward again, a few of the men shuffled uncomfortably. Some of them reached behind their backs. But my eyes stayed on the chief. Technically I was supposed to be chief of the Quileutes. This was a stand-off between the leaders.

"You don't want to push me on this, old man. Or my pack. You won't like the outcome."

"Is that a threat?" he asked with small smile.

My eyes scanned the men at his back. "Consider it a warning. Your _only_ warning."

Then, I did something stupid: I turned my back on him. But it was also to show him my confidence. He wasn't the only one who had power. I was an Alpha werewolf with a loyal pack and a loyal set of soon-to-be in-laws.

I was stepping into the tree line when I heard the shot ring out. A moment later, my right leg gave out on me in a wash of pain. On my way to the ground, I phased instinctively. The pain was intense and I couldn't help the whimpers.

Another shot rang out, but missed me by a mile, the shot hitting a tree. I tested my leg. It hurt like a sonofabitch, but I could put weight on it. It wasn't that I could if I wanted to. It was that I _had _to. My one thought was to get back to the house, to Carlisle…to Nessie.

A third shot rang out, but I was already running, dodging back and forth. Running in a straight line would help them.

I ran and ran, hoping that they weren't following. I needed to stop or at least slow down. My leg was throbbing. I skidded to a stop behind a tall, wide tree. Not wanting to risk it, I didn't phase back. I just tried to stretch out my leg. There were wounds on both sides. I knew that meant that it was a through and through. The bullet wasn't in my leg, but the wound was bleeding pretty badly. Blood had pooled in the leaves already. I knew that running wasn't good for blood loss. My upped heart rate would cause me to bleed a lot faster, but I had to get back to the Cullen house.

I needed to hold Nessie. After hearing that old bag threaten her, I needed her in my arms.

Getting back on my feet took more energy than I was comfortable with, but I pushed myself.

I pushed myself to get back to her.

**RPOV**

Paul and I had reached our prime hunting spots. A funky scent was on the air along with human, but that could just be a passerby. Paul wasn't really that worried about it.

We came across a clearing with a herd of deer. Splitting up, I whispered, "I want the buck," to him before he took off around to the north of me.

The hunt and kill was perfect. Paul made it a quick kill, snapping the neck and tearing the artery open for me.

"Thank you," I said. And I dug in.

I hadn't realized how thirsty I was until I'd smelled the blood. It was sweet and smooth going down my throat. Sitting back, I pulled the buck into my lap. His antlers dug into the ground, propping his head off my lap.

"You should slow down and breathe, Ness. That stag isn't going anywhere." Adam stepped into the clearing grinning. Derek wasn't far behind with an identical grin.

I took a few more gulps and was stuffed. Pulling back, I slipped out from under the buck and stood up. There was blood on my hands so I wiped them on my jeans. I had plenty pairs of them to replace this one.

I grinned at them as I wiped the blood from my face. "Hey, guys. Fancy meeting you out here," I said as nonchalantly as I could.

"Yeah, fancy that," Derek said with a smile at Adam.

Our smiles were cut short when Paul came into the clearing growling. This one wasn't a playful or hunting growl. This one was a warning. Instantly, Adam was standing in front of me as Derek disappeared into the trees.

I sniffed the wind as it blew into my face. That weird human scent was back and stronger. All went quiet as Paul went the opposite direction of Derek into the trees.

In the far distance, there was a sound like a gunshot.

"What the hell was that?" I whispered.

Adam shook his head in answer.

Then, suddenly, there was utter chaos. Paul growled and snarled viciously out of sight as Derek yelled. Adam turned and hugged me to him, covering me with his body.

Two seconds later, I heard a dull thud. Adam's body jerked and something poked my shoulder. Adam's weight was thrown on me. Down we went. I sat down hard in the grass with Adam on top of me. As soon as I could see over him, I found that an arrow was sticking out of his back. What had been poking me was the arrowhead that had ripped through his chest. The left side of his chest.

Not daring to move him, I patted his other shoulder. "Adam?" I whispered in a shaky, high pitched voice.

He didn't answer.

I patted him harder. "Adam? Adam! Talk to me. Please talk to me." He grunted in response, trying to brace an arm on the ground and lift himself up.

I held down his good shoulder. "No, don't move. Just stay there."

"Nessie, is Derek-?"

Running a hand through his hair to calm him, my voice hitched. "He's-he's fine." _I think, _I finished in my head. _I hope._

That must have been what Adam was holding on to hear, because a moment later, his arm gave out, and he fell back into my lap. Completely limp.

Panic ate at me. I slapped his shoulder this time. "Adam?! No, wake up!"

Tears started streaming down my face as he remained silent. Derek came through the trees hauling someone by the collar of his shirt in one hand and a bow in the other. When his eyes caught sight of us, fear and pain were the first emotions to cross his face. But right after it was hatred and rage. In a move so fast I missed it, he changed his grip on the man to the front of the guy's throat. I could see the muscles in his hand tense as he squeezed.

Before I could say anything, my father was kneeling beside me. I had no idea where he came from but I cried harder at the sight of him. I wanted to hug him and cling to him. Instead, I stared at him not daring to move the arrow in Adam's chest.

"Dad, is he-,"

He shook his head. By his expression, I could tell that he was listening to Adam's thoughts. "No, he's alive."

My heart started beating again and my body went weak.

He slowly pushed Adam to his right side off my lap so that he could examine the arrow. I wiggled my legs out of the way so Dad could have room to move.

"I'm pretty sure it missed his heart." At that, Adam's eyes opened and I took my first deep breath since he passed out.

Derek's hand was still squeezing. I jumped to my feet as Uncle Jasper appeared beside the very angry werewolf. Waves of calm flowed through the clearing. Derek glanced at Jasper, growled, and pushed him away. Clearly, Derek did not want to be calm. I rushed over to them putting my hand on Uncle Jasper's arm to get him to step back.

Then I moved that hand to Derek's shoulder. "Derek, you need to let him go. Adam is ok. He's still alive, and I'm sure that he wants to see you. Please." The tears kept coming and my voice got high and squeaky again. "Derek, this man knows something. We won't know it if you kill him. Please, Derek. Please. Jacob and Dad need to question him. Let him go, let him pass out. You're too good to have his blood on your hands."

I wasn't sure what else to say or that he'd even heard that until I heard a faint gasping coming from the unknown man. A moment later, he fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Derek looked down at him with a cold glare. It promised a lot of pain after we were through questioning him. And then he walked away. Uncle Jasper knelt by him and then nodded up at me. I hurried after Derek to Adam's side.

"Is he going to be ok?" Derek demanded.

Before Dad could answer, Paul let out a long, angry howl. As Jacob had said, howls were reserved for those that were hurt. After his howl died down, others in the distance picked up where he left off.

"He will be if we can get him to Carlisle. He's losing a lot of blood. But I know it didn't hit his heart. Its beat is too steady."

Derek went to pick Adam up, but Dad stopped him. Derek growled at him. Dad growled back.

"If you move him with that arrow still sticking out as much as it is, you'll have a slow trek through the woods. If you snag it on something, it could do more damage. Do you want to be the one to kill him?"

A heartbeat passed and Derek eased back.

"Jasper," Dad called. "I need some steady hands."

I stood up, pulling Derek with me. I took his hand in mine and squeezed.

Uncle Jasper came to kneel beside us. "What do you need?"

"Hold the arrow steady near his body. We've got to break off the end of it so we can get him through the woods. I don't want to risk taking it out all the way."

"Where _is_ Carlisle?" Derek demanded. I would have shushed him for his tone, but it was a question I also wanted an answer to.

"He'll be busy attending someone else shortly."

"What?"

Dad didn't answer him. Instead, he measured the end of the arrow, told Jasper where to put his hands, and then snapped off the end of the arrow. When Adam grunted in pain, Derek's fingers squeezed mine. I opened my mind to him, trying to send him calming thoughts. Adam was going to be ok. Carlisle would fix him, make him whole again.

Beside me, Derek took a deep breath. And then suddenly, he was standing in front of me. But he wasn't looking at my face. His eyes were on my shoulder. I looked down to find my sweater torn and blood seeping into it.

"You got hit," he said.

I swallowed the fear, shaking my head. "It's just a scratch. I'll be fine." But of course, as soon as I saw it, it started hurting. It burned and stung when I shrugged.

Behind Derek came another grunt. I saw his eyes flinch. When he turned we both saw that they'd pushed the arrow a little through the front so that they could snap off the arrowhead. Dad threw the pieces to the ground in disgust and sat back. Adam's eyes were closed. I assumed he'd passed out again.

"Dad, what did you mean about Carlisle treating someone else?" I demanded. And then a thought occurred to me. "Did Jacob come home?"

He didn't meet my eyes. Instead, he'd closed his as if he were in pain. "You should go home, Nessie."

My heart rate accelerated. The fear came back in a rush, and I thought I was going to faint.

"Is Jacob ok?" I whispered.

"I don't-he's…"

And then it hit me. The gunshot at the very same time Adam was hit with an arrow. Two shots at the same time?

"Oh my god!" I yelled, heading for the trees. "That gunshot!"

"Nessie!" Derek yelled after me.

There was no more talking. I rushed into the trees. Tapping into my vampire speed, I nearly walked on the water of the river near the cottage when I reached it. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I wasn't alone. Two wolves ran beside me, barking, growling, and yipping as we ran. One of them was Leah, the other Christa.

Quickly, the girls fell behind as I dodged roots, jumped over logs, and ducked low-hanging branches. I didn't even know if I was still breathing. The fear racing through my blood made me numb and cold at the same time. I felt like my blood was moving slowly through my veins even though my heart was pumping a mile a minute.

I prayed hard that Jacob was still breathing. As long as his heart was still beating, we'd be ok. I'd be ok. But if something happened to him, god help the bastard who'd hurt him.

The house was visible through the trees, lights shining and winking through the branches. Racing to the edge of the trees, I kept going when Christa and Leah stopped so that they could phase. I leapt over the stairs to the kitchen door and burst through it.

I stopped, taking the time to gather my breath.

From the direction of the dining room, I heard a hiss and, "Geez, doc. Take it easy." My heart beat again at the sound of that husky voice.

"You pulled the skin apart when you were running. You need these stitches or it'll scar."

There was another hiss. "No, what I need is Nessie."

I walked to the door of the dining room.

Jacob was lying back on the dining room table, arm slung over his eyes. Carlisle was sitting in the chair with a needle and thread. Just as I walked in, Carlisle clipped the thread and tied the knot on the stitches.

I swallowed hard as Jacob shot up off the table, worry and fear in his eyes. My eyes were glued to his leg. Blood had dripped down from the wound to land in a puddle on the floor.

"Nessie!" As Carlisle moved around, cleaning things up, Jacob jumped off the table. When he landed, he must have forgotten about the wound because he flinched and took some weight off of it.

Instead of making him come to me, I crashed into him. Throwing my arms around his waist, I clung to him as the tears started up again. He wobbled for a second before regaining his balance.

This wasn't enough. I needed to kiss him. So, I leaned back, pressed my hands to his shoulders, and jumped. His hands caught me under my butt and held me to him. But he couldn't hold my weight and stay standing so he sat back down on the table. As soon as I was on the same level as his lips, I consumed them, grabbing at them with my teeth. Sliding over them with my tongue. He picked up on my franticness and matched my greediness with his own.

His hand snaked up into my hair to press into the back of my head, forcing my face closer to his. I really wasn't even sure that we were breathing, but we didn't care.

Eventually, though, we had to come up for air.

"Are you ok?" he asked hoarsely, stroking my back.

I choked out a laugh. "You're asking me if I'm ok?" I pulled back. "You got shot, didn't you?"

He gave me a look. "How did you know?"

Taking a deep breath, I wiped my eyes. "I heard the shot."

He brought his hand down from my hair to slip across my neck. But his wrist hit the scratch in my shoulder, making me hiss.

Pulling back with a confused look, he inspected my shoulder. When he found the wound, he growled so viciously that I could feel it even though my arms were resting on his shoulders.

"You're bleeding, too."

I repeated what I'd told Derek. "It's a scratch. I'm ok."

"Carlisle!" he called, ignoring me. In a flash, he was off the table and had sat me in his place.

My grandfather appeared with his doctor's kit. He lifted the edges of the hole in the sweater to investigate the wound.

"Nessie, can you get the sweater off?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I can. It didn't cripple me." I was fine until it came time to lift my arms over my head. The hiss came out before I could stop it. So did the whimper when I ripped the sweater away from the edge of the wound.

As Carlisle went to work, Jacob seemed to remember something. "Nessie, what happened? Who was that howling? Was it just you that got hurt?"

I winced when Carlisle put an alcohol wipe to the scratch. The tears that flowed weren't just from the pain. Seeing Adam like that had shaken me. I'd never actually seen real violence before. Even when the Volturi had come all those years ago, a fight hadn't broken out. Now, I'd witnessed Caden getting attacked by his own pack leader, Adam getting shot in the back with an arrow, and Jacob's very own shot wound.

Jacob's hand came up to caress the tears away. "Nessie," he said softly. "Please talk to me. Tell me what happened?"

It would have been easier to show him, but I wasn't sure if I could get my thoughts to cooperate.

So I took a deep breath. And started from the beginning of my outing, spitting out short factual sentences. "I went up to the cabin to get my sweater. We'd left it up there. Adam and Derek were staying up there for some r and r. I told them that Paul and I were going hunting. They said they'd meet us out there. I'd fed when they showed up. But Paul and Derek had gone on alert. There'd been this weird smell. Human mixed with something else." He growled at that, but quickly calmed himself down to let me finish. This was going to be the hardest part to tell.

I swallowed and continued. "We heard the gunshot, though it was far off. Paul started growling, Derek was yelling, and Adam had wrapped himself around me. Two seconds later his body jerked and we fell to the ground." The tears came harder, make me shudder. Carlisle had to stop cleaning. He moved so that Jacob could step in front of me, wrap his arms around me, and press my face to his chest. I clutched at him. "There was an arrow sticking out of his back. There was so much blood. Derek, he-he found the guy that had done it and was choking the life out of him. I had to talk him down. I was so scared he was going to kill him, put that bastard's blood on his hands."

He stroked my hair and rocked me. "It's ok, Nessie. You're safe. I'm so, so sorry."

"I really hate to interrupt, but I'm about to have another patient."

I hopped off the table a moment before the door burst open. Derek came in the room with Adam in his arms. Adam was still passed out. His skin was white, lips pale. If I listened closely, though, I could hear his heart beating.

As Derek laid him on the table, Dad came in and around so that he could hold Adam's shoulder up off the table. Jacob and I scooted back so that his back was against the wall and mine was against his chest.

"I wasn't sure if it was ok to take out the rest of the arrow, so I left it for you," Dad said.

Carlisle looked at it carefully for a moment, listening. Then he nodded. "It's ok. Slip it out for me."

Dad had Jasper come around to hold up the shoulder so that he could slide the rest of the arrow through the wound. Adam's body jerked. Derek ground his teeth and flexed his fists. Reaching over, I took his hand again. This time his was covered in blood.

It took a couple hours for Carlisle and Dad to fix Adam up, but they did it. His heart had stopped a couple times forcing Derek to silent tears and prayers. But each time, Dad got it started again. There was blood everywhere.

The entire time, I held Derek's hand as Jacob rubbed my shoulders anxiously. The pack trickled in. Sam and Leah were leaning on the wall on the other side of the table. Shelby and Seth stood just outside the door to the dining room holding each other. The others had dispersed in or around the house.

Finally, Carlisle pulled off his surgical gloves and straightened up. He came over to Jake. "I've done all I can do. But if he gets enough rest and doesn't overdo it, he'll be fine." His eyes glanced at Derek and then back to Jacob, letting me know that he knew about the connection. "There may be scarring, but I expect him to make a full recovery with the right care. He can take my and Esme's room."

"I'll take him," Derek said.

Carlisle nodded. "I've pumped him up with morphine, but it'll wear off quickly. Let me know if he needs more."

Derek nodded. When he picked Adam up gently, everyone stepped back. As he passed, the wolves all touched Adam in some way. It was a comforting gesture that packs were known for. Esme showed up in front of the stairs to show Derek the way to the room.

A moment later, Mom was walking in the door. "Hey, why is there a guy tied to the tree?" And then she actually saw the table and the blood everywhere. "Oh my god! What the hell happened?"

Again, I put on the waterworks and flung myself into her arms. Jacob came up behind us to hug us both. I didn't know where she'd been, but it was clear Dad hadn't filled her in on what was going on. He'd left in a hurry.

"Jacob, why are you limping? What happened to you? And why was my daughter bleeding?" she demanded as she wrapped me tight in her arms.

"I think we all need to know what's going on," Sam said.

There was a murmur of agreement through the house. Jacob pulled away from us and limped into the living room. There was a gasp among the wolves and Rachel let out a small yelp as they caught sight of the blood-stained gauze around his right calf. I had yet to let go of my mother. And she had yet to loosen her grip. After Dad had washed the blood off of him, he came to take Jacob's place, wrapping his arms around us.

"Nessie isn't up for sharing again. So, I'll tell you what happened with me and Paul will tell what happened to them."

Holding Mom, we all listened as Jacob told us about the call from the Makah chief, his threat, and the gunshot. When it was Paul's turn to share our little adventure, I couldn't stand it. Pulling away from Mom and Dad, I gave Jacob an apologetic look, blew him a kiss, and went upstairs. I stopped at the second floor. The door to my grandparents' room was ajar.

Knocking softly on it to let Derek know I was coming in, I pressed it open slowly. He was lying in the bed wrapped gently around Adam's prone form, his lips pressed against the wound in Adam's shoulder. I stepped in, closing the door behind me with a soft click.

"Hey," I said softly. "How's he doing?"

Derek sat up, careful not to shake or bounce the bed. "Still out, but his breathing is even as is his heartbeat."

His eyes were red from crying and tired from worrying. "That's good. How are _you_ holding up?"

He scrubbed his face with his hands, taking in a deep breath. "I'm ok. Now that I know he'll be alright, I'm fine." His eyes narrowed in my direction. "How are you? Carlisle clear you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it just needed to be cleaned out."

He nodded. "Good. I saw that Jake was limping. What happened?"

"He was shot," I choked out. Those three words pulled at my heart. I didn't like thinking about anything hurting him.

"Jesus. What the hell is going on?" he demanded in a whisper.

Before I could say that I didn't know, another howl rose up from the woods. It was kind of far away, but I'd heard all of the pack's voices before. That wasn't one of them.

Instantly, I knew it was Caden.

**JPOV**

Paul had just finished telling us what had happened over vicious growls from the pack when another howl ripped through the night. I looked over at Sam, who shrugged and shook his head. Yeah, I'd thought all the pack was at the house, too.

A few minutes later, Emmett came through the kitchen door and a frown on his face. "Some kid's here to see Nessie and Jacob."

I startled but Edward nodded. "I recognize him from Nessie. It's Caden."

Temporarily forgetting my injury and my limp, fury washed through me as I flung myself out the door. Flurries had started spitting down, but none of them touched my skin. I was trembling and had to fight against phasing.

A kid about eighteen was standing with his back to the door, staring down at the man tied to the tree. I'd worry about the unconscious guy later. My attention was on the blond kid who was supposed to be helping us.

He turned as I approached. His scent burned my nose, making my head pound, as it washed over to me on the wind.

"Caden, right?" I demanded. Before he could answer, I said, "Jacob. Pleasure to meet you," cranked my arm back, and busted him a good one in the face.

His head rocked back as his ass hit the ground. He held his face in his hands and blinked several times. Blood seeped through the cracks in his fingers.

"I guess I deserved that," he said in a thickly accented voice.

"You deserve a lot more than that. What the hell is going on? And be honest with me. Today's not a good day to piss me off."

"Clearly," he mumbled, getting to his feet. "Look, I heard a gunshot go off. I was coming out here to make sure that she was still alive."

I glared at him. "Well, she is. No thanks to you."

"Caden?" Nessie's voice asked from the doorway behind me.

Caden's face visibly relaxed. "Thank god. I thought something bad had happened."

"Excuse me?" she demanded in an icy tone. It made my eyebrows shoot up. I'd never heard her voice so cold.

I really had to try to hide my grin as she came to stand in front of him, her arms crossed over her stomach. But I didn't hide my growl when his eyes took in the fact that she was only wearing a tank with her arms pushing up her breasts even more.

"Would you like to keep your eyes in your head?" I growled out.

His eyes glanced up at me for a moment and then went back to her. He ignored me. "Look, I thought they'd gotten you, or-,"

She hauled back and punched him in the face just as I had. There was a crunch and another burst of blood as her fist connected. He didn't fall over this time, but his head did snap back. "You bastard. Something _did_ happen. Jacob was shot in the leg and Adam was shot in the chest with an arrow by that," she pointed at the unconscious guy, "piece of shit. An arrow that was meant for me. And you want to tell me that nothing bad happened?!"

This time, I couldn't help my proud smirk. She was gorgeous.

"I came here to warn you. When I found out, I couldn't just run out here immediately to tell you. I had to wait or they'd suspect. I didn't realize that they were moving immediately. They still don't trust me."

"Fancy that," Nessie said in a sarcastic tone.

"Tell us what," Edward said in an icy tone to match his daughter's.

Caden's eyes glanced at all of us. He spit blood out on the ground before he started talking again. "Your friends in the north are not your friends. They were approached by someone. Someone who whispered all these nasty things into their heads." He gestured to the man against the tree. "They've been following you, spying on you."

"Who approached them?" I asked.

He shook his head. "That I don't know. Tristan is the only one who talks to our 'boss'. I've tried to listen in, but all I can hear is that it's a woman. If anything happens we're supposed to blame the humans. We're supposed to say that they lied to us. But that's not true. Tristan, or this mystery woman, lied to them."

"They shot Jacob!" Nessie yelled. "I don't care who told them what." She walked up to him and poked him in the chest. "You'd better get us some useful information _before_ we find it out the hard way next time. The safety of my family and my pack means more to me than my own life, and I'm finished cowering in fear."

Those damn eyes of his studied her. "You do have a temper, don't you?"

She stepped up into his face. "You wanting to protect your crappy cover with that pack almost cost me Jacob and Adam. I hate that I feel this way, but your life means nowhere near what theirs do to me. If you don't think that you can go back and get better information, then you might as well stay here and run around blind like the rest of us, waiting for something to happen."

He stepped into her personal space. "I told you that I didn't know how long it would take for me to get back in."

She didn't back down. "Yeah, well, your pussyfooting around nearly cost two of my wolves their lives, one of them being my mate. I don't hold that lightly. Any threat to my pack raises my hackles, if you know what I mean."

"Hackles?" He spat at her. "I wasn't aware you were one of us."

"I'm Jacob's mate. That makes me alpha female. They expect me to step up, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. That's what a proper pack does. Or have you forgotten that?"

Her words meant something to him. I could tell because they'd taken the anger from him. He studied all of us, eyes landing on me. "I'm sorry that I nearly cost you your people. I'll give it one last go with Tristan. If I can't get in with him, I'll come back somehow and beg for your forgiveness."

"Why don't you get cleaned up first?" Leah's voice came behind me from the doorway. Eyes turned to her, and instantly all the wolves knew that look in her eyes.

Edward chuckled as I cursed loud and vicious. "Good grief, Leah. Him?!"

She shrugged. I sighed and turned back to him. He was watching us carefully. I watched his eyes flick to Nessie, to me, then to Leah. Somehow, I thought he was putting together the pieces, like he knew that something had just happened. That one of my wolves had just imprinted on him, making him untouchable to my pack.

I jerked my head to the door. "Get cleaned up."

He shook his head, eyes still on Leah. "Not a good idea. I can use this to my advantage," he said, gesturing to his face.

An evil smile crept over my lips. "Well, maybe I should beat the crap out of you. Then you can tell them that the people they're accusing you of helping don't trust you either and preferred to beat the shit out of you."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he sneered back.

"Enough!" Nessie yelled. She pointed a finger at him again. "I thought you were rooting for me and Jake?"

"I was until I found out the hard way that he's an asshat. You lied to me, telling me what a great guy he is."

"Stop it," she snapped back. "Get out of here. I'm tired of looking at you right now. I just want to spend time with my male. The male that _you_ helped me start a relationship with, I might add."

He grimaced, but nodded. "Of course." He glanced at me. "I'd offer to shake your hand, but you might punch me again. Twice was quite enough."

Caden took one last look at all of us, eyes lingering on Leah, and then took off into the woods at a jog.

The clearing was silent for all of two seconds as we watched him go. On the third second, I whirled around and faced Leah.

"You imprinted on him?!"

Edward chuckled again. "Now it gets interesting."

"Shut up, Edward. How could you, Leah?"

She jumped off the porch steps and faced me. "You know I couldn't help it, Jake. Just like you couldn't help it with Nessie. Or Sam with Emily. Or Jared with Kim, who happen to be sitting in the living room fresh from their honeymoon. That's why I wasn't out here at first, dumbass."

I scrubbed my face with my hands hard. "Great, just freaking great. Now we can't beat the crap out of him."

"Oh, yes you can," Leah said to everybody's astonishment. She laughed. "I don't know the guy. He could be a serial killer for all I know. But if everything turns out and he ends up here, you know that something will happen. I won't be able to fight that kind of a tie with him that close."

When I growled, Nessie took my hand in hers. "Enough, guys. Let's all just go inside and calm down. That's all we can do until he comes back."

"_If_ he comes back," I heard Emmett mumble.

She shushed him and started leading me into the house. I tugged on her hand for her to stop. She turned to me with a question in her eyes.

"Your pack, huh?" I asked, grinning.

She grinned back and shrugged. "It just sort of slipped out."

Pulling her to me, I wrapped my arms around her waist. "Yeah, well, I like it."

There was an appreciative rumble from the pack as I pressed my lips to hers. She pulled back to hiss, though, when her shoulder pressed into my chest.

"Come on, guys. Let's all go home and get some rest. It's been a rough day."

Sean came over to clap me on the back. "You think a couple of us should stay up here?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I think we'll be ok for tonight. But the patrols still need to happen." I turned to Leah. "You run down at the rez until this mess is over, just in case."

"Understood."

"Well," Sean said. "I'm going to stay up here with the Cullens to watch the house."

"Me, too," Christa said.

Jordan stepped up. "I'll stay, too. Seth has a late patrol anyway so I gotta stay with Shelby."

"Um, what are we going to do with that guy?" Shelby asked, pointing to the guy still tied to the tree.

Bella spoke from where she stood beside him, glaring down at him. "We'll deal with him. I'm sure Derek will want some moments with him. But first we've got to get information out of his brain."

Her tone and words scared me. Bella had never been into torture and blood, but in a way, I could understand. That man had almost taken Nessie from us. If Adam had been slower, she wouldn't be here. And I knew that Bella would have gladly ripped him apart to drink all his blood slowly while he was still alive to watch for taking her only child away from her. In a way, Bella had become a different person when she'd become a mother and a vampire.

And I understood the urge to beat the ever-loving shit out of the guy. He'd nearly taken my reason for existing. Out of all the threats to her over the past months, this attempt was the closest to success.

Edward moved her side to glare down at the man. Bella's eyes met mine. We had a moment of complete understanding and nodded at the same time.

We said all of our goodnights outside the house. Nessie and I waited until the last of the wolves and their mates left except for Seth, Shelby, and the guards.

Shelby had come to stand next to Nessie, gripping her hand tightly. When everybody had left, she'd gently touched her best friend's shoulder. Seth had come to stand next to me, eyes scanning the woods.

"Are you ok?" Shelby whispered, tears in her eyes.

Nessie nodded, taking Shelby's other hand in hers. "Yeah, I'm seriously ok. Jacob is still breathing and Adam is healing. I'm worried about him though."

Edward came to stand beside us. "He's actually awake. And he wants to see you. He won't take any more morphine until he does."

Before I could blink, Nessie was racing for the house. I followed her, not really wanting to be apart from her. I caught up to her and took her hand, forcing her to slow down. If she seemed anxious going in, it was going to make Adam anxious and he didn't need that.

The door on the second floor was ajar when Nessie knocked on it. We went through the door hand in hand to find Derek sitting beside the bed and Adam lying there, watching the door.

"Hey," Nessie said tears and a smile in her voice. "How are you feeling?"

"I just had surgery on a dining room table and survived. I'm peachy."

That made the three of us laugh. He tried to laugh but ended up coughing and grimacing in pain.

He looked terrible. His skin was white and pasty. His lips were thin and paled out from being pressed together in pain. Oh, I knew what he was going through. I'd had the same look when Carlisle had had to re-break my bones ten years ago.

"Hey, man," I said, bringing his eyes to mine. "I seriously owe you one. A big one."

His eyes flicked to Nessie, giving her a silent message, before flicking back to me. He shook his head. "She's my alpha female. It's my job to protect her."

"Nonetheless, I owe you."

The way he reached his hand out, I knew it was for Nessie. She gently crawled across the large bed and took his hand.

"You're ok," he whispered.

She nodded. "Yeah, you saved my life, Adam. I'll never forget that."

"Neither will I," I said.

He nodded and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

"I think it's time for more morphine, Adam. Nessie and I will get the doc and leave you be, ok?" He nodded. "Get some rest. We'll check on you tomorrow."

"Thank you," he whispered before his eyes pinched with pain.

"Doc, get up here."

A moment later, Carlisle was standing beside the bed with a needle while Nessie came to stand beside me, gripping my hand tightly. We both stayed until Adam passed out again. If he could handle that kind of pain from saving my mate, then I could damn well watch him go through it. I owed him that at least.

Once he was out, Nessie and I went to her room without another word. We didn't need any words. Both of us had been terrified out of our minds today. We were just happy to see each other breathing. She took off her tank, flinching as the movement pulled at her shoulder. Standing only in her bra, she went into the closet to change into some pajama bottoms. Me seeing her in just her bra only once made her completely comfortable with the action. Smiling, I went in the closet when she came out to change out of the cut-offs that I'd hopped into when I'd gotten back so that Carlisle wouldn't have to see me naked again.

She didn't put on another shirt, and I understood. It was her way of telling me that she needed us to be skin-to-skin tonight. I knew because I felt the exact same way. I needed her as close to me as I could get her without being inside of her. Though I did want that right now, I couldn't bring myself to get in the moment. I just needed her in my arms.

Once we were in the bed and she was in my arms, all we did was stare at each other. My hands rubbed up and down her back while she stroked my chest. We could have been lying like that for minutes, hours, days, or months and I don't think either of us would have noticed.

And that's how we fell asleep: staring into each other's eyes, whispering 'I love you' until we lost consciousness.

**RPOV**

Jacob was wrapped around me when I woke up the next morning. His chest was pressed to my bare back, and I could feel his heart thud against his chest. His arms were wrapped around my waist, making my skin hot.

I knew he was awake because his lips were pressing kisses into my shoulder and up my neck. Rubbing his arms, I leaned my head into the pillows so he'd have better access.

"Good morning," he whispered against my skin.

My stomach tightened and I shivered violently, causing goosebumps flow over my body. "Morning," I whispered back.

We didn't talk after that. His lips slid over my skin, across the back on my neck. I rolled over so that I was facing him so that I could claim his mouth with mine. But he hissed when my leg rubbed over the bandages of his right leg.

"Sorry," I whispered against his lips.

"S'okay."

I pushed at him with my hips to let him know that I wanted to roll us. He took the hint, tightening his grip on my waist and pulling me with him when he rolled onto his back so that I was on top. He brought his hand up to brush my hair back and it was my turn to hiss when his forearm hit the scratch in my shoulder.

"Sorry," it was his turn to whisper.

I smiled against his lips. "S'okay."

He chuckled and captured my lips. Definitely no more talking after that. Though we were both wearing pants, I could feel the hard length of him press into the most secret part of my body through my pajamas. The tightness there lessened a little when I moved my hips, creating friction. His hands clamped down on my hips, keeping them still. But he moved up, keeping the friction. I wasn't entirely sure that he knew he was doing it.

I pulled back, not sure if I was liking what was happening or not. I liked the feeling, the tightness loosening. But this was imitating the act a lot more closely than anything we'd done previously.

"Jake, stop. Please."

Immediately, his body stilled. The length of him was still hard under me, but his hips were still. He pressed his head back into the pillow, breathing hard, eye closed.

"I'm sorry, Nessie. I don't know what got into me."

Stroking his cheek, I smiled. He opened his eyes to watch me, pressing his cheek into my hand.

"I know. You want me. We could have lost each other yesterday. Our bodies are wanting us to be together just once, but our hearts are telling us that we still have time."

He smiled. "Your heart told you to stop making out with me?"

I grinned. "Yeah." I kissed his lips. "I refuse to believe that we're out of time. And right now is not our time. You stopped us last time I was attacked because I was scared. You didn't us to happen that way. And I don't want us to happen this way. Besides, we need to check on Adam."

Jacob stared at me for a moment before nodding. He kissed me and rolled us again. He laid me on my back while he propped himself on his arm.

"Good point."

I needed to tell him about them first. His acceptance of them could be his payback if Adam was right in thinking that Jacob wouldn't approve. I doubted he was right, though. Jake understood what it was like to be separated from the one he loved.

He stroked my lip. I hadn't noticed that I'd put it between my teeth. "What is it?" he asked.

I sighed. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Ok. Did something else happen that you didn't tell me?" His eyes turned worried.

My hand slid up his arm in a soothing gesture while my other hand slipped over his chest and the mark I'd left there.

"Well, yeah, but nothing dangerous. It's about Derek and Adam."

He leaned in to kiss me. "Nessie, please just tell me. You're freaking me out every time you pause."

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. "Ok. Well, yesterday, I told you that I went up to the cabin." He nodded. "Um, well, I kind of walked in on them."

"You walked in on them? Doing what?"

That brought a blush to my neck and cheeks. "Uh…um," I sighed again, forcing myself to get this over with. "They were having a very intimate moment." When he was still looking at me like he was waiting for me to tell him something worth my nervousness, I said, "With each other."

His eyes widened as those dark brows went to his hairline. "You mean, they…they're-,"

"Together," I finished for him.

The expression on his face told me that he was thinking furiously, trying to process that two of his wolves were lovers. Two of his male wolves. He pulled away from me to lie on his back and stare at the ceiling.

I rolled onto my side and stroked his arm. Letting him think, I came up with a bunch of arguments to use just in case.

As it turned out, I didn't need them.

"Huh," he huffed out. "Why didn't they tell me?"

I let out the breath I'd been holding in relief. "Well, they were scared."

"Of what?" he asked turning to look at me.

"That you'd tell them they couldn't be together. That you'd tell them it was more important to mate with a female and carry on the gene."

He looked at me like I'd grown a very ugly second head. "I'd never do that."

My fingers came up to trace around the dark bruise on his chest. "That's what I told them, but I promised them that I'd talk to you about it."

He brought my hand up to his lips. "Thank you. For taking care of them." His other hand came up to move my hair out of my face. "Let's go check on them."

I kissed his lips. "Good idea."

Five minutes later, we'd changed into more decent clothes and walked down the stairs to my grandparents' room. I made sure to knock before going in. When we walked into the room, Derek was darting off the bed, but I smiled and shook my head. When his eyes shot me a question, Jacob chuckled.

"She told me, Derek. And it's ok."

He looked surprised. "Really?"

Jacob shrugged. "Of course. I'm not going to make you do something or be with someone that you don't want to do or be with. That would be like rape. Passing on the gene is important, but being happy is even more important. Not to mention that I think we have enough wolves to pass on the gene. We'll be ok."

Derek sank back onto the bed in relief, his hand going to Adam's hair. It was a gesture that Jacob used with me when we were cuddling up in bed.

"Thank you," Adam rasped from the bed.

I hadn't realized that he was awake. But now that I was looking at him, I could see that he looked a thousand times better than he had last night. Crawling up on the bed, I took his hand.

"Hey, you. How are you feeling?"

He coughed a little before saying, "Why the hell does everybody keep asking me that? I'm alive, I get to be with Derek, and my alpha male and female are ok. I'm pretty damn ok."

"You should have told me," Jacob said.

Adam's eyes dropped. "Sorry, Jacob. I just couldn't bear for you to tell me that I couldn't be with Derek. I love him."

Jacob nodded. "Adam, if anybody understands what it's like to be separated from someone you love, it's me. As I told Nessie, I'd never do that. It's shocking as hell, but as long as everybody keeps doing what they're doing to keep their private thoughts to themselves in wolf form, then I have no problems."

They both chuckled. "I think we can do that."

Derek nodded, his fingers inching toward Adam's. "We've been hiding them for months."

I could tell Jacob started to get uncomfortable with the touchy-feely from them, so I crawled off the bed and pressed my back to his chest.

"We're gonna leave you to get some rest. Let us know if you need anything, ok?" I told them.

Adam looked at Jacob. "You have yourself a damn fine female, Jacob."

Jake's arms wrapped around me. I felt him nod. "Oh, I know I do. Trust me," he said, kissing my shoulder. "I know."

* * *

**I really have nothing to say here, except please review. I really do appreciate them. As an aspiring author, they help to tell me what my strengths and weaknesses are. I cannot believe I made it to twenty-six chapters and you guys are still wanting more. That means a lot to me. Thank you! xoxoxoxoxo**


	29. Author's Note 3

**Hey guys! I know I haven't updated in a few days. I'm actually going ahead and writing the last few chapters. I do believe that there will only be about two or three more chapters. And then I will start on the sequel. So please, please hang tight with me. I have not forgotten about you, and I would never leave you guys hanging. Also, if any of you would like to talk to me about the story or have any questions, please don't hesitate to PM me. Thank you guys for your support, your reviews, and your patience. You guys are seriously awesome! **

**-Laura xoxoxoxoxo**


	30. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27! Sorry it took me so long. I was fighting with myself over this chapter and where to cut it off. But I have to say that I really enjoyed the steam in this one, though some of you may not agree. But also, we're starting to lead up to the end. Like I said there will only be a few more chapters, and then the sequel will come. I promise. **

**Now, enough of my ranting. Please enjoy!**

* * *

**JPOV**

"So, Dad," Nessie said around a piece of bacon that Esme had cooked. "How did you know to come for us?"

She was sitting in my lap at the kitchen table. Overnight, they'd cleaned up the dining room, but the table hadn't been salvageable so it was just an empty room now. We sat at the smaller kitchen table, eating breakfast.

It was so strange how normal the morning was. Last night had seemed so epic, but here we were the next morning eating scrambled eggs, bacon, and waffles as usual. The only differences were my brand new bullet hole, which throbbed like a bitch, and the gash on Nessie's shoulder. When we'd come down here from seeing Adam and Derek, Carlisle had taken one look at her shoulder and frowned. I'd screamed at Edward in my mind for him to tell me what the hell the frown was for. He'd shaken his head at me.

I continued to glare at him as Nessie fed us both from her plate.

"He kept moving in and out of my range of seeing his mind. But I caught glimpses," he answered her. Of course he answered _her_.

"Ok, but how did you know about Jacob needing Carlisle? I'd just heard the gunshot right before Adam got hit."

"There were three shots," I said, taking the bite of egg she offered me.

"What?!" she yelled, turning to face me.

Oops. I guess I forgot to mention that part last night.

"Clearly," Edward said, reading my thoughts with a smirk.

_Oh, shut up_, I told him. And then I looked back to Nessie. "I guess I didn't mention that. They got lucky with the first shot. Maybe I shocked them into missing the second by phasing. On the third shot I was already dodging into the woods."

She looked as if she wanted to choke me, but then she took a deep breath. Turning back around on my lap, she faced her dad.

"Anyway," she said through gritted teeth. "How did you know?"

Edward was still chuckling to himself. "I heard the shots, too. And a moment later, Alice saw Carlisle disappear. I didn't know for sure that it would be Jacob, but I knew that a wolf was hurt and would be coming to see the doctor."

"That's why you couldn't tell me if he was ok. You didn't know."

He shook his head.

"Did you get anything out of that guy?" Derek asked from the doorway. He was carrying an empty plate to the sink. He'd come down earlier to get some food for Adam. His voice was nonchalant, but we all knew there was a cold rage just below the calm. Ripping into the guy was Derek's new goal in life.

Edward's eyes flicked to Derek, then to Carlisle. And that was when I realized Bella wasn't here. She was always with Edward. They were like me and Nessie: rarely apart. And then I noticed that Jasper was also missing. He was the vampire soldier.

Edward caught my eye and nodded.

_Damn_, I thought. They were getting their information. And they weren't doing it anywhere near the house. I had a feeling we'd be hearing it. Instead, the house and the woods around the house were quiet. It was kind of creepy.

The vampire shifted against the counter. Hmm, he was uncomfortable. "He doesn't speak English but he doesn't have to. He was sent to kill Nessie by order of his chief." His eyes flicked to Carlisle again.

"What?" I demanded.

Edward glanced at Nessie and then met my stare. "There was a woman in his thoughts. A woman cast in shadow."

"What about her?" Nessie asked, leaning her arms against the table.

Clearly, she didn't know that her ass was pushed back when she leaned forward. It took all I had to keep my mind on the conversation and keep my body from rampaging out of control. Even under all this drama, I was still drawn to the most basic element of what I was with Nessie, and that element was raw passion, heat.

I heard Edward's teeth grind, but I didn't apologize this time. Nessie and I were a couple. Even if he didn't have that stupid ability, I'd still be having these thoughts. It's his own fault that he tuned in.

"Anyway," he said through his teeth. Well, I figured out where Nessie got it from. "She'd kept her face hidden inside the hood of her jacket. But she told them of the dangers of vampires and Jacob's type of werewolf. She whispered that we were dangerous and that the werewolves of La Push had been corrupted by us, especially their leader."

"What?!" I growled.

Edward nodded. "Clearly, you have been led astray by Nessie."

"That's bullshit. Who the hell would say something like that? Especially if they don't know us?"

"I think you're all missing the main point, here," came a strained voice from the doorway.

We all looked to find Adam leaning against the frame, breathing hard, looking as if he were going to throw up or pass out. Maybe both.

"Adam!" Derek shouted, racing across the room. Carlisle was right behind him.

"What the hell are you doing out of bed?" I asked.

"Multitasking," he said weakly.

Nessie had jumped off my lap to help Derek help Adam into a chair while the doctor pressed two fingers to Adam's neck and looked at his watch. As soon as Adam was in the chair, though, he shook everyone off except Nessie. He kept an arm around her waist and leaned his head against her shoulder, eyes closed, still breathing hard.

It made sense that he would want Nessie to stick around. His mother had died when he was young like mine had. And his father had passed a couple years ago from lung cancer. Derek was…well, he was Adam's…lover. He'd be too overprotective. But Nessie was perfect. If you told her you were ok, she'd let you be and not nag you. But she'd always be there when you needed her.

She was like that really laid back mom that every kid dreamed of. She'd make a great mother. I couldn't wait to get started. Edward gnashed his teeth again and I grinned.

Still smiling, I turned to Adam. "So, what point are we missing?"

After another deep breath, he said, "You're all so worried about what the assassin has in his mind. But my question is what was Caden thinking? He's in the midst of all this. You guys were kind of rough on him last night." We all must have gotten a look on our faces because he hurried on. "Don't get me wrong. I would have been hostile, too. But being prone on my back all night made it easier for me to find time to think about it. We should have been a little nicer. He _is_ the only connection we have between the tribe and this weird mystery woman and the other pack of wolves. He may not be totally on our side, but he's not outright attacking us either. Hell, they guy saved Nessie's life…twice. We owe him, Jacob."

I closed my eyes, wanting to beat the crap out of myself. I _did _owe him…twice. And because he'd saved her when he could have easily killed her and been done with the whole thing, I dreaded what Edward would tell me was in the kid's mind.

"What was he thinking, Edward?" I demanded in a whisper.

He shifted again. _This _was the question he'd been dreading. He didn't like what he was about to say.

I opened my eyes to glare at him. "Tell me, Edward," I growled.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He was telling the truth. They're keeping him in the dark. And he doesn't know who the woman is. All he knows is that she was the one to recruit Tristan. Tristan put the pack together. Caden was telling the truth when he said that Tristan was the only one to deal with her."

"Who could it be?" Adam gritted out between his teeth. "The Volturi?"

Alice walked in, then, shaking her head. "I've widened that field to all three of them, especially after Caius's comments nine years ago. I felt it would be best to keep an eye on him."

"Then who?" Derek asked.

"Have we pissed anybody off lately?" Emmett asked from the dining room doorway.

We all shook our heads or shrugged.

"Dad?" Nessie said, bringing my attention to them. She was looking at the frown on his face. "What is it? Is there something else?"

He wouldn't meet her eyes when he sighed again. Man, he really didn't like this conversation. Nessie forced him to look at her by standing right in front of him.

"Daddy, what is it?"

"He was terrified," he whispered.

"What?"

Edward's eyes became sad. "Caden was terrified to go back. But he knew from the moment _you_ sided with Jacob that he wasn't staying here. He'd hoped that you'd be the peacekeeper."

Her hand went her mouth and tears filled her eyes. "Oh, god," she whispered. "He'd wanted us to save him. He'd wanted us to tell him that he could stay here where it was safer."

Before I could go up and grab her, Edward pulled her to him. "I'm sorry, sweetie. But all I saw were good intentions. He really was concerned for you." He lifted his eyes to me over her shoulder. "And for Jacob."

Well, didn't that knock the wind right out of my sails. And the Douchebag of the Year Award goes to? I cursed in my head. I punched the guy who'd protected the woman I love. I hadn't even stopped to think last night. I'd been all reaction, and it had been wrong. The information that there'd been a mysterious woman was actually helpful. It didn't solve all our problems but it could prevent a war between two Native tribes. There may be hope for peace between us. And I'd made him go back to a hostile pack that, if Nessie was right about them, they could kill him without thinking twice about it. Shit.

Edward let me take Nessie from him. Holding her to my chest, I walked us back to the chair. Her tears were silent because they were, in her mind, her burden to bear. I knew this because her mental block had crumbled. She felt like she was at fault because she was the only connection to us that he'd had. She was supposed to be his safety net. She'd promised him that we weren't like that other pack, and last night had probably proved her wrong to him.

After about five minutes, she calmed down, rubbing her eyes on my shirt. Adam reached over to stroke her hair and Derek had come over to place a kiss to her head. They really did care about her, and I appreciated it. She needed more than just my comfort.

While we all sat there and thought about what had been said, the wolves started coming in to see Adam. Claire came running in with Quil and Morgan close behind her. And, of course, Emmett had to say something else.

"Morgan hasn't slept with anybody's boyfriend, has she?"

The statement was entirely wrong. Morgan was a lot like Leah, except meaner, colder, but she was downright gorgeous. Her black hair ran down her back in tight curls. She didn't care that it being that long meant that her wolf's fur was nearly dragging the ground. She just pushed herself harder through the challenge. The hair made her light brown eyes stand out in her deeply tanned skin. High cheekbones gave her an almost cruel look. Like Nessie, she had the perfect hourglass figure that made men drool…until they met her eyes. They may have been a neutral color, but the emotion in them could freeze a man's soul.

But men tended not to get all the way up to her eyes, and she had no qualms about sleeping around. Her only exception was married men. That was one tie she wouldn't touch.

She gave Emmett a one-fingered solute behind Claire's back. "Shove it, Cullen."

"Hey!" Quil said, giving them a look.

Claire turned to him, her lips pursed. "I've heard it before, Quil."

"What? Where?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Then she went back to Adam. "I would hug you, but Quil said you got hurt. But I made you this!" She held up a dainty, multicolored, braided bracelet. I recognized the knot work. I'd taught her that braid.

He smiled shakily and held his wrist out. "Thank you, Clairebear. Here, put it on me."

Her face lit up. "Really? You'll wear it?"

He chuckled and tried to hide the grimace of pain. "You made it for me to wear, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, then, I'm going to wear it. But you gotta tie it on for me."

She happily went to work tying the knots that would leave the bracelet on him until it fell off.

Letting go of the depressing conversation for now so as not to disturb Claire we talked about various other things like Jared and Kim's return from their honeymoon in California. The guys and I couldn't give our proper jabs because they were inappropriate for young ears, but we could still make subtle innuendos if we were careful. Eventually we made Kim laugh and blush. It was good to see them this way. They'd always been the quiet couple.

Bella and Jasper finally made it back inside. There was snow on their boots. Man, I hadn't even realized that we'd gotten hit by it. I saw Derek look at them meaningfully. Jasper nodded at him. I really wasn't sure I wanted to know what happened or what was going to happen, so I pretended that I didn't see the exchange.

While everyone was talking and visiting, Rachel stood by Carlisle while he changed the bandage on my leg. She'd called me about a million times last night, but I'd been too busy staring at Nessie. I'd had this fear that if I looked away from her for too long that she would disappear.

The wound looked terrible. Rachel hissed when she saw it and tears came to her eyes. Nessie looked livid. Derek wasn't the only one who wanted a piece of the guy. The stitches were all crusted with blood, the skin was yellow, and it stung like hell when cold air hit it. I tried to keep my grunts to a minimum, but when he pulled out the alcohol wipes and whatever else he used to clean it out, I made the room go silent with my carefully selected cuss words.

I caught Claire's eyebrows in her hairline and a soft, "Wow," shape her lips.

Quil glared at me at the same time winced at the bubbling wound. I gritted my teeth and quit cussing. He was right. But damn, if it didn't hurt like a mother.

By the time the wolves took off for their various guard duties and patrols, my leg was re-bandaged and throbbing, and Adam was exhausted. The color had drained out of his face. His eyes stayed closed a lot longer, and his breathing was sharp and shallow.

"Derek," I called. When he turned to me, I nodded to Adam. "Let's get him back upstairs. He's had enough for one day."

Nessie slid off my lap but I gripped her hips and turned her to me. Though her tears had stopped, her eyes were still sad. Putting a hand to her cheek, I leaned up and kissed her.

"We'll get this taken care of, ok? Somehow, I will fix this."

Nodding, she stroked my face and lips with her fingers. "I love you, Jacob."

"I love you, too," I said against her fingers.

She moved back to make room for me to stand up. Derek had gotten Adam out of the chair and had wrapped one of Adam's arms around his shoulders. Luckily, the three of us were all tall so it wasn't awkward when I wrapped the other arm around my shoulders. He was too weak to stand so we just hauled him up the stairs, his feet dragging a little.

It was a slow process, but eventually we got him on the bed. He cursed and grumbled before Carlisle showed up with more morphine and Nessie with a pitcher of fresh water and two glasses. I took them from her and put them on the bedside table.

"Thanks. Could you give us a moment? I'd like to talk to them before the meds kick in."

She glanced at them and grinned, but then her face turned serious when she glared at Adam. "You get some rest. No more of that random out of bed crap."

His smile was weak but genuine. "Yes, mama bear."

"And don't you forget it." She kissed me and left the room, closing the door behind her. Pulling an extra chair up to the bed, I sat down and faced them.

"What's up, Jake?" Adam said.

I blew out the breath I'd been holding. "I guess I owe the two of you an apology."

They looked at each other.

"For what?" Derek asked.

"For giving you some sign that I wouldn't understand," I made a waffling motion with my hands, "this."

"Jacob," Adam coughed out. "It wasn't that. It was just that, like we said before, carrying on the gene is important."

"And like I said your happiness is more important. There are a fair few couples that will send that gene right along through the blood." I sighed. "I can't say that I understand the pull of another guy. Obviously. I'm imprinted to a woman, and I swing that way. But I look at it this way: the two of you have been…lovers for a while, and no matter your orientation you've always had my back, and Nessie's. That's what matters to me. Not who you love."

"Thanks, Jacob," Derek whispered.

"And, of course, I'll let the two of you decide when and how you want to tell the others, if you ever do. I guess I now know why you opted to do patrols every time the packs had their meet and greets with the rez."

After it had come out that the wolves of La Push had returned many families would bring their of-age daughters around the packs to see if they would imprint. Then, they started asking us to meet them at the community center. To have a daughter be mated to one of the wolves of our legends would be an honor for the family, and they'd be remembered. But it was still awkward to have all these girls stand in front of the guys. And some boys stand in front of the female wolves. However, it did work for some.

But it hadn't occurred to me until now that Derek and Adam had always volunteered for the patrols that day so that others who wanted to do the meet and greet could do so.

"We didn't want to chance it. I mean, what kind of karma could we have racked up to be gay and then have to have a female mate? Who knows? Imprinting may not care about the orientation of someone."

Derek shook his head. "I don't think that imprinting _thinks_ at all."

Adam shook his head, but stopped when his shoulder pulled. "No, it doesn't think, but there's something alive about it. We've all been treating imprinting like it's just a normal thing, but try to see it as if you were a normal human being. Imprinting doesn't happen to normal people. But that tie is so strong that you'd gladly kill yourself for the one you imprinted on. _Love_really isn't strong enough a word. It's so much bigger than that. I believe that there's more to it than just finding a mate, that there are properties of it that we have yet to discover."

"You've put a lot of thought into that, haven't you?" I asked.

He nodded. "The other reason we don't go to the meet and greets is not just because of the females. If my theory is right, then the males would be just as dangerous to us."

When they reached for each other's hands at the same time, I knew that it was time for me to go. They wanted to be alone. It was plain on their faces. And so was the love. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before.

Standing up, I nodded at the two of them. "Well, I hope that things stay good between you. And if you need anything, you can come to me or Nessie."

"Thanks, man."

Once the door was shut behind me, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Nessie was sitting at the top of the stairs, staring at a wrinkled picture, waiting for me. She looked up when I came out.

"Hey, how'd it go?"

Instead of answering her, I just stared at her. The top part of her hair was pulled back into a clip, the rest of it pulled around to rest over her right shoulder, covering the gash from the arrow. A low cut V-neck sweater showed off a bit of cleavage and the mark that she'd insisted I breathe back to life whenever it started fading. When she looked at me, I could still see the sadness and blame for Caden in her eyes, but there was also love and hope and everything that was good in the world. Just looking at her, I knew that everything would work out. It had to. This world would be a desolate, lonely place without her in it.

She folded the picture and put in her pocket as she stood up. "Jacob? You ok?" Wrapping her arms around my waist, she looked at me worriedly when I didn't answer. She shook me a little. "Come on, Jake. You're freaking me out."

Tightening my hold on her, I flipped her back, putting her weight into my arms. She squealed and gripped me tighter. Before she could say anything, I crashed my lips into hers. I felt her hesitation at first, but then she started participating, stroking her tongue against mine. I straightened up, slid my hands down her back, brushing her ass, and gripped her thighs. She got the picture and jumped when I tensed to lift her. Her legs took her arms' place around my waist while her arms wrapped around my shoulders tightly.

I tried to be gentle like I usually was, but it wasn't just _need_ that had taken me over. It was _NEED_. Taking a few steps, I put her back against the wall, our mouths still attacking each other hungrily, her hips rolling into mine.

After a few heartbeats, she pulled back with a questioning look. "Jacob, what's gotten into you?"

Again, I didn't answer her. My eyes were glued to her lips. There were no words for how I was feeling in this moment.

So, instead of talking, I pressed my lips her hers again and carried her to her room, kicking the door closed behind me.

**RPOV**

Though I was enjoying the attention, I could feel the tension in Jacob. It surprised me to realize that the tension was from him trying not to be too rough, trying to keep himself in check. But there was something wild in him right now. I could feel it in the way his lips devoured mine, the way his fingers tightened on my thighs when I rolled my hips into his.

I knew it was coming but I still felt the drop in my stomach when the feeling of falling came as he dropped us onto the mattress. He kept a hand on my butt and used the other to brace himself over me, keeping our lips glued together. After a moment, he wrapped an arm around my waist and moved me up further on the bed, but kept himself where he was so our lips couldn't stay connected. He moved those lips over my skin as he moved me up. They ghosted from my lips, down my chin, and over the column of my neck. I'd expected him to stop at my chest, over the mark he'd left on me, but he didn't. With my hands still on his shoulders, I felt the deep breath he took before he pressed his lips to the top of my breasts, my cleavage.

To my left, I heard his fingers clench into the comforter as he took the next step to nuzzle the neckline of my shirt and further down my breasts. He growled when his mouth came into contact with my bra, and he shifted himself so that he was kneeling, bent over me. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he lifted me so that I was sitting on his thighs. The only way for me to sit was wrapped around him, which pressed the most secret part of me to his stomach. My stomach clenched fast and hard.

Even through our clothes, I could feel the heat radiating off of him and it made me shiver in anticipation, though I knew we wouldn't be getting that far, not right now. There was something too desperate about his hands and lips. I knew he wanted our first time together to be special, more controlled. This was too wild for what we both envisioned.

But I went with what was happening. I'd been thinking about getting him alone, especially after what happened last night. There was no way I could have done this with him last night in bed when I was so scared and rattled. But today it set in that we were all still alive. Adam was going to live. Jacob would be walking with a limp for a while but there was no serious damage. And my own wound was going to heal without a scar.

So, I just pressed his head, his lips, closer to my skin. His hands slipped from around my waist to squeeze my hips once before his fingers found the hem of my sweater at my stomach and started moving up. The feeling of his fingertips sliding over the skin of my stomach made me want to clench my legs together to create some sort of friction there. I shivered violently when his fingers reached the underwire of my bra, caressing the skin just under it. When I shivered, I'd rubbed myself against him.

He growled and jerked my sweater over my head in one quick move. There was no gentleness to it because he didn't have to be. The neck of the shirt was nice and wide open. I did gasp at the suddenness of it. While he was busy pulling it off the long rope of my hair, I worked his shirt up his chest so that when he finally threw my shirt to the floor, I could pull his over his head. He growled again when he was finally able to look at me. The heat in his eyes would have melted the snow outside. I was practically offering myself up to him in my deep purple, push-up bra.

He licked his lips as he looked from my chest to my eyes, practically begging permission. Again, I had to swallow my hesitation and give in. I pressed the back of his neck down. When his lips hit my skin, there was no more need to guide him. His hands gripped the small of my back just above my jeans, fingers digging into my skin. My fingers went down to scrape my nails over his skin. And I wasn't gentle about it when I felt his teeth nip at the top of my breast.

I gasped which made him growl again. The sound vibrated against my skin and made the center of my breasts tighten hard. Jacob's mouth moved back and forth from one breast to the other, sometimes nipping at my skin or flicking his tongue out to lick me. I scratched my nails down his back, growling a little myself with the lust pulsing through me.

I was so lost in it, him, that it took me a moment to realize that his hands had slid up my back to the clasp of my bra. He was back in his own mind now and calmer. He rested his cheek against my chest, breathing hard, eyes closed. His fingers played with the clasp at my back for a full minute before he said anything.

"Do you trust me?" he whispered.

I stroked my hand through his hair and kissed his forehead where I could reach. "Jacob, stop asking me that. You know I trust you."

No more needed to be said. The tension in the bra broke when the clasp was undone. He straightened up to press our chests together and stare down into my eyes. Leaning down, he kissed me, gently running his tongue over my swollen lips. Keeping our chests pressed together, he pushed the straps down off my shoulders, his eyes watching his movements. A fingertip traced the straps as they slid down to my elbows.

The gash on my shoulder stung when the strap was slid over it and I tried to hide the wince. But of course, he saw it. Those impossibly dark eyes tightened in anger. But he bent over me, keeping us as pressed together as possible with the bra still slipping, and ran his lips softly over the wound. It hurt and felt so good at the same time.

Jacob moved down to the slope of my left breast, kissing the outer edge of it, nudging the bra out of the way. Those hotter than hot hands slid up my sides, over my now bare ribcage and squeezed a little. His thumbs pressed into the bare skin of the sides of my breasts and my hips bucked hard into him. In a flash, he growled, moved back, ripped the bra away from my body, and pressed us back together. I was pretty sure he hadn't seen anything, but I could again feel the hard length of him pressed to the front of his jeans.

And then I thought about what had just happened. My bare breasts were pressed against Jacob's bare chest. My nipples hardened so fast that it was more painful than anything. His bare skin was scorching against mine and I was almost tempted to move away from him, but I didn't dare.

Last night he'd caught on that I'd wanted to press my skin to his. Today, this was him letting me know that it hadn't been enough. He must have realized the same thing I had because I wasn't the only one who shivered violently. Again, his thumbs caressed the outer edge of my breasts, and I nearly lost my control.

"Jacob-," I whispered. My body was tight and achy. I'd had to force my hips to stay still. I wanted him so bad to lay me across this bed and make love to me. But again we were desperate to be comforted and we were willing to take advantage of the other's weakness, which was why I didn't pull him down on the bed on top of me. I clung to him for all I was worth.

"Nessie, I'm so sorry," he huffed out.

I dug my nails into his scalp this time out of anger, not lust. "Will you stop apologizing?" Gripping him by the hair, I pulled him up, pressing my chest to his, so that I could glare into his eyes. "Jacob, this is natural. If you keep apologizing for everything, we'll never get anywhere. You know that if I had been uncomfortable that I would have stopped you." I moved myself over him. "Does it look like I'm uncomfortable? Yeah, I blush and get nervous, but that's natural, too."

He looked at me like I was just telling him what he wanted to hear.

Letting my anger go, I traced his lips with my fingertips. "Jacob, I love these lips on my skin, consuming me. I love your hands on my body, the way you grip me to you, the way you tug my hips to yours when it's not a conscious thought. I love the way your eyes watch me. The way they darken, letting me know that you want me." I sighed, pressing my forehead to his. "Am I ready to make love to you? No. But not because I'm embarrassed anymore. It's because that it hasn't been the right time. And I know that you want to wait for that time even though that wolf inside you wants you to ignore your common sense."

Those eyebrows rose in surprise. I chuckled.

"Jake, there's something inside of me that just wants to rip off those sweats and look at you." I blushed, but knew I needed to say what I had been thinking. "I want you to want me. I want you to explore me the same way that I want to explore you. I want you to want to be with me that way."

"I do want that," he whispered.

I dragged my thumbs over his forehead. "Oh, I know that." I moved my hips to feel that he was still hard. "Trust me. I know. But you apologizing tells me a different story. You know I trust you. Now I need you to trust me, ok? Trust that I will stop us if I get uncomfortable. But I doubt that that will happen. I can't be that way with you anymore. We've come too far for that."

"What are you saying?"

I blushed again. Telling him what I was thinking while we were busy made me want to blush even more, but things needed to be said if we were going to become as comfortable as Seth and Shelby. Having this heat and tension boiling inside me was not fun since I couldn't get rid of it, and Jacob could take care of his problem in the shower.

Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, I said, "Jacob, while we were hot and heavy just now, I'd had the thought that I wanted you to lay me down and make love to me. It really wasn't a conscious thought. And that tells me that I'm ready for us to happen. I'm comfortable with you, but you apologizing?" I shook my head. "It tells me that you're not completely comfortable with me."

He brought his hand up to stroke my cheek. "It's not that I'm not comfortable with you. I just don't want to push you too far. I don't want you to think that you have to do this because I want to. A man is supposed to take care of his woman, not push her into things that she's not ready for."

Giving him a look, I pressed my bare skin harder against his. "Tell me something, does it really feel like I'm not ready for you?"

He closed his eyes and shivered. That was my answer.

"Nessie, I just want…"

"You're tired, Jacob. Remember?" I stroked my fingers through his hair, making his chest rumble. "You're tired of fighting us. Well, don't. Mom and Dad have stepped back to give us the freedom to progress. Quit getting in your own way. Do what feels right to you. And more than likely what feels right to you will be exactly the same as what feels right to me."

He stared at me for a moment before pulling me into a hug. Resting my head on top of his shoulder, I stroked his skin and his hair. The heat between us had calmed down and now it was all about us being close, skin against skin. Our naked torsos fit well together. His stomach pressed to mine allowed me to feel his muscles move as he breathe. The feel of his strong chest rising against mine brought friction to my breasts that had me fighting the shivers. I brought my hands down along his ribcage and made sure to rub against both of us where we connected. The sides of my breasts and his chest were nearly equal in heat. He was just a little warmer than me, which was odd since I was half vampire. The flush of my human side must have kept me warm to match him.

He shifted and put his nose in my hair, his chest rising with the deep breath. "I love you so, so much, Nessie," he whispered.

"I love you, too, my Jacob."

We just sat like that on the bed for about an hour, stroking each other's skin and hair. Eventually, he leaned me back so that he could grab the edge of the comforter and pull it around me. Kissing me, he scooted off the bed.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

He chuckled. "No matter what's happening, there's still a wedding to get planned. Alice designated today my tux fitting day."

My face lit up. "Oooo, I wanna watch this." I grabbed my bra and sweater and dove into the closet, dragging the massive comforter behind me. I quickly redressed and met Jacob at the door.

Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting on the couch watching Jacob stand on a chair much like Paul had been. Though he'd had a tux made for Grandpa Charlie's wedding, a new one had to be made because Rachel and Aunt Alice had picked a new material. Jacob complained much less than Paul had because he'd been through the process before, so he just stood there, arms out to his side, and watched me. Quil and Claire had come to visit Adam again, but he was sleeping so they'd come back downstairs. Quil ended up having to take over a patrol shift because one of the other wolves' wife and baby were sick, so he had to take care of them. Claire and I were reclining on the couch. I stroked her hair while she leaned back against me as she twisted some leather into another braid. When I'd asked, she said it was for Derek.

"Ouch, Alice!" Jacob yelled out from his perch on the chair.

"You moved."

"I have a gimpy leg that I can't stand on for hours on end. Geez. Are you trying to get it all done in one day?"

She sighed. "Maybe. I also have to start on Claire's dress. It's just luck that she's here right now."

Five minutes later, Aunt Alice was just putting in the last pin in the pants when Jake's cell phone rang right beside me. I picked it up from the arm of the couch and tossed it to him. He caught it and when he read the screen, he growled viciously.

Answering it, he snarled, "What do you want?"

Claire shrank back against me at his tone. She'd probably never heard him like that before. Frankly, it surprised me, too. But with all that had been happening, I knew his nerves were shot with worry and anger. I felt the same way.

I stroked her hair to sooth her but kept my eyes on Jacob. His expressions turned from rage, to suspicion, to thoughtful.

"Where?" he asked. Then he nodded. "Yeah, fine. But this better not be another set up. You shoot me again and I'll bring my entire pack up there. Are we clear?"

They must have said yes because he told whoever it was that he'd be there in a half hour. Hanging up the phone, he tossed it back to me as he grabbed his sweats and went to change into them. When he came out, he handed Aunt Alice the slacks and came over to the couch to stand in front of me.

"I gotta go, Nessie." He was worried. It was there in his expression and his voice.

I took his hand in mine. "You aren't going up there, are you?"

He squeezed my fingers. "I have to. Something is going on up there."

"How do you know?"

Jacob sighed. "The panic in his voice." He knelt down and brought my hand to his mouth. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

I bit my lip hard to keep from arguing. He was the pack leader. His decisions were his decisions. "Just take backup, ok? Please?"

He nodded. "Sure. I'll call Embry."

"Another, Jacob. If I have to have two guards then you do, too."

"I'll go," said a voice from the kitchen. We looked over to find Christa standing there. She shrugged averting her eyes when Jacob looked up at her. "I just patrolled around the house. Jordan took over for me. I'll go with you, Jacob."

Out of all the wolves, Christa looked less like Native American than the others. Her father had married a Caucasian woman, and the result had been the girl standing in the doorway. She was short and thin, but strong. She had a mane of dark blonde curly hair that ran down to her waist, much like mine. Her eyes were a deep blue, skin a golden brown instead of russet.

Where, in a past life, she may have been flirty and outgoing, she was quiet and subdued here with us. We'd come to find out that before the first time she'd phased, her father had been like Shelby's, but a million times worse. When Jacob had first seen her thoughts, he'd gone after the guy, threatening to call the cops. But Christa had pulled Jake back, telling him that she wanted nothing more to do with her and her mother's tormentor. Instead, Jacob had ended up banishing him from the reservation and Forks. If he set one foot back on the lands, he was forfeiting his right to live. Jacob had apologized countless times that he hadn't paid attention to the tribe the way he should have. Since then, Jacob had gone door to door checking on people, and urging people to come talk to him or the pack if anything happened.

Jacob thought about it then nodded. "Ok. Would you go call Embry for me? Tell him I need him up here asap."

"Of course," she said, not meeting his eyes. A moment later, she was disappearing back into the kitchen.

He sighed and turned back to me. "I promise I'll be back."

Squeezing my eyes shut tight, I brought his hand up to my face. "Please, please come back to me without another gunshot."

His smile was tired. "I can't make any promises, but I will damn sure try."

"Uncle Jake," Claire said.

He looked over at her sheepishly. "Sorry, Clairebear."

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. I need to tell you something."

Glancing at me, he looked back her and nodded seriously. "Ok, hit me with it."

Claire crawled over my lap to sit in front of him. She poked him in the chest. "You be nice to Aunt Nessie's heart. It can only take so much."

I'm pretty sure that both Jake and I were surprised. She'd never called me anything other than Nessie. And the fact that she seemed to know how deep what she had said really was, how true it was.

Jacob recovered first, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "You're right, Claire. I'll take care of it."

"You'd better. I can't keep her happy the way you do. Nobody can."

"She's right," I said.

He stood up but bent to place a kiss to my forehead. "I will be back, Nessie. I promise."

I moved so that he'd know that I wanted a kiss. His lips caressed over mine. "I love you, Jacob."

"I love you, too."

And then he was gone with Christa at his back and Embry waiting for them outside.

* * *

**Another deep breath. We're finally getting to the end! I never thought this would happen let alone have ideas for second and third stories. But this is all because of you guys! As I always say, you guys are awesome! xoxoxoxoxo**


	31. Chapter 28

**Ok guys. Chapter 28. The beginning of the final chapters of the story. If you're an emotional reader, you might want to grab some tissues. I cried writing it. And you guys have been so awesome. The last chapter was received well by you guys, and you left me very helpful reviews. Thanks a bunch. **

**Please enjoy.**

* * *

**JPOV**

I really wasn't in the mood to leave Nessie. Why couldn't I just have one day with her that wasn't filled with some type of drama? Why couldn't the universe just let us be? But no, I'd phased out of my sweats and bandage and ran into the woods with Embry and Christa running my flanks.

My leg throbbed but it was considerably better than it had been before. It felt more like I had just banged my shin against a coffee table than gotten shot. Phasing again _helped_ heal it.

_You ok, Jake? _Embry asked from my left.

_Yeah, I'm good. Let's just get up there, see what they want us to see, and get the hell home._

A simple sigh came from Christa.

_You alright, Christa?_ I asked.

_Yes. I just wish I had…_

_Yeah, I know. You'll find it. I promise._

She wished she had someone to go home to. Her mother had left not long after I'd banished Christa's dad. Supposedly she'd gone to be with him, leaving their daughter behind, blaming her for their troubles.

_Christa, you know that you do have a family, right? We're your family, and we'll take care of you. Your parents were useless pieces of crap. The only good thing they ever did was bring you into the world to be here with us. We're glad to have you._

_Thank you, Jacob, _she mentally whispered. There was also a small smile to come along with that thought.

_Jake's right. Don't that piece of shit control you from wherever he went. You can be who you want when you want. We won't stop you._

_I'll try to remember that._

The rest of our run was spent wondering what the hell was going on. I'd replayed the conversation for them and the tone in the old man's voice, the fear that I'd heard. Embry thought he was acting. Christa agreed, thinking that it could be another trap. So we made a plan. They didn't know that I was coming with backup, so Embry and Christa would spread out, running the perimeter, just in case.

Just before we reached where they told us to meet them, a strong scent almost had my joints buckling. My eyes rolled and watered. I'd smelled it before, but not that strong. The fact that I smelled it _that_ strongly meant that nowhere near good news was about to meet me.

As the other two split up, Embry tried to keep his wolfish gagging quiet.

_What the hell is that, Jake?_

I swallowed hard. _Blood. And lots of it._

_Human?_

_Yeah. You remember Bella wiping her blood all over the clearing when Victoria brought her army?_

_Oh, right. Damn. Can you tell who it is?_

I shook my head. _No, but the scent that it's mixed with is familiar._

Slowly, I inched toward the edge of the trees that led into the clearing. The smell became stronger.

"Jacob?" the chief called out, his eyes scanning the woods. "Please come out. I know that I tried to kill you last time you showed up, but this is different. I'm putting aside our differences for now."

He was standing in the middle of the clearing in front of a bunch of men…again. Awesome. But looking at them more closely, I could see that they were standing shoulder to shoulder as if they were guarding something. And there was a rather large circle of men, not a line of them.

I phased back to human. The smell died down considerably. "And why would you do that?"

He turned to face the trees in front of me. When a few of the men went for a weapon, he called them off.

"Because she doesn't have much time. And we're not capable of helping her."

"Who?"

He shook his head. "She's not familiar to us. But you'll know more about her wounds than we do."

Cautiously, I stepped out of the trees and into the clearing. Now that I was out of the cloud of pine scent, the scent of blood hit me again. I kept an eye on the clearing, knowing that Embry and Christa were out there. As I approached, the men glanced at their chief who nodded solemnly.

The look he gave me as I passed was sad as if he were giving me his sympathy. I stared at him until well after all the men had moved aside to give me a view of the inside of their circle.

But a wash of dark auburn fur caught my eyes as did a pair of bright green eyes.

My breath catching in my throat, I fell to my knees, stunned at what I saw.

**RPOV**

I rotated my neck and shoulders, trying to cure the tension. It didn't work. Sitting on the couch, I watched Claire prance around the room in the beginnings of her dress. It was a simple cut and Aunt Alice was nearly done with the foundation of it.

I tried to smile back at her when she glided around the couch, humming to herself. The dress was a pink-ish red color that made her russet skin glow.

"Aunt Nessie? Are you ok?" she asked, stopping in front of me.

It pulled me out of my worried thoughts of Jacob enough to smile at her. "Yeah." I reached out to tug a stand of hair out of her mouth. "Hey, why did you suddenly start calling me 'aunt'?"

She shrugged. "It just made sense."

"How so?"

Swishing her skirts, she grinned. "Well, Jacob is Uncle Jake, right? I mean, he's Uncle Sam's pack brother, so that would make him my uncle as well. And you and Uncle Jake are going to end up married eventually even though you're younger than me." When I started to say something, she shrugged again. "I know, I know. You'll explain it when I'm older and can understand it, but the point is that you and Uncle Jake are going to get married, making you my aunt."

I stroked her hair. There was no need to try to deny my relationship with Jacob. "Well, Claire, you don't have to call me that if you don't want to."

Her face fell. "You don't want me to call you my aunt?"

"I didn't say that," I explained hurriedly. "I don't mind if you do. But I'm just telling you that you don't have to if you don't want to."

Grinning, she climbed onto my lap even though she was too big for that. Compared to the guys, she was still small so climbing into Quil's lap was no problem. Mine was a little tight on space.

"I want to call you that. It just feels right."

"Ok, Claire. You call me whatever you want."

When she grinned again, I couldn't help but grin back…until Seth came through the back door.

"Hey, what's up, ladies?" He bent down to let Claire kiss his cheek.

Claire hopped off my lap to swirl around again. "Mrs. Alice is making my flower girl dress. It's not finished yet, but isn't it pretty?"

Seth grinned down at her. "Yeah, it is. It's very pretty. Rachel better watch out or she won't be the prettiest there."

She grinned at him again and then spun her way to the giant picture window that also served as a mirror now that the sun was setting. We both watched her for a minute before Seth turned to me.

"Shelby upstairs?"

Giving him a look, I shook my head. "No. She and Jordan haven't come back yet."

"What? They should be back by now."

All at once, worry attacked me. She'd left hours ago to take a walk in the woods with Jordan while Seth worked down at the garage for a few hours. Worry etched into his expression as he pulled out his cell phone. It rang five times before going to Shelby's voicemail, which wasn't right. She _always_ answered when it was Seth calling. Not once had she ever missed a call from him.

At that moment, Carlisle was a blur down the stairs and out of the door, doctor bag in hand. Seth and I glanced at each other, eyebrows raised, as he tried to call Shelby again.

Again, there was nothing. Her voicemail clicked on as a howl rose into the night air. Both of our heads whipped to the kitchen door that led out into the woods.

Seth frowned. "That was Embry."

"Oh, god," I whispered, wrapping my arms around my torso. "He's with Jake and-,"

Another howl broke into the first one.

"Christa," Seth finished for me. So Embry and Christa had howled, but not Jacob. Did that mean that he was hurt? I had to get to him. Now.

Two heartbeats later, I yelled for Aunt Alice to watch Claire and darted after Seth out the door into the woods. He phased and it took me a moment to realize that we were following my grandfather's scent. He was heading toward the howls. But he'd left _before_ they'd ripped through the night. Someone had to have called him. Was it Jacob? Was he ok? I prayed to whatever god existed that he wasn't somewhere with his throat ripped out.

Seth was a ways ahead of me when another scent slammed into me, giving me an instant headache. I immediately knew what and who it was. There was no mistaking that tart apple smell. Caden was close by and by the intensity of the disease smell, he was bleeding.

"Ness?" Seth had phased back. His nudity didn't even bother me.

"Go, Seth. Check on them. I'll catch up to you in a minute," I puffed out, pretending like I was winded.

He gave me a strange look but nodded and phased back, taking off up the sloping woods. More than likely, Jacob was ok. He had to be. And he'd understand if I went back for Caden. He felt the same responsibility for Caden's predicament as I did.

Dodging to my right into the trees off the small trail, I tapped into my vampire half and followed the smell of copper pennies and disease. It was slow going because I was concentrating more on the smell than the forest around me. Limbs snagged my hair, roots threatened to trip me, and small animals scurried around my legs trying to get away from me.

I knew I was heading in the right direction because the smell was getting stronger, making my head pound and eyes water. I had to be right on top of him.

And sure enough, light started showing through the trees, telling me that I was heading into a clearing. These woods must have tons of little pockets where there aren't any trees. Wiping the tears from my eyes from the paint he scent was causing, I could see something lying in the tall grass of the meadow.

"Caden?" I whispered.

Whoever it was groaned and tried to lift himself up. I could only make out the movements through the grasses, but not any features. He groaned again.

"No," he coughed. And I knew that it was him.

"Caden," I breathed.

And then I made the biggest mistake.

I ran into the clearing.

**JPOV**

"Hold on, Jordan. Don't you dare stop breathing," I demanded. "Shelby, just keep squeezing my hand. Help's on the way. Just hold on."

As soon as I'd seen them on the ground, I'd wrestled one of the men to the ground and had grabbed his cell phone. From memory, I'd dialed Carlisle.

"You can't bring them up here," the chief had said.

I'd phased back, growling and snarling in his face. My teeth had to have only been an inch or two away from his face. He'd held up his hands with, "Very well."

Now, Shelby squeezed my hand weakly, her eyes closed, breathing short and shallow. Jordan was bleeding badly from the gash on his side and neck. He was too weak to phase back to human so I just stroked the fur on his back, trying to give him something solid to hang on to. His heart beat was too slow and getting weaker as the seconds ticked by.

Christa and Embry were still in wolf form, circling us, growling at the men surrounding us. Eventually, Carlisle broke through the circle, Edward not far behind. They knelt by us. Shelby grabbed for Edward weakly, closing her fingers around his.

Carlisle inspected both of them. When a sad look passed over his face as he looked at Jordan, I knew it was bad news.

"I can only work on one of them," he said.

"Him," Shelby whispered. "Fix him." When Carlisle studied her, she gritted her teeth. "Work on him. I can hold on longer."

Carlisle and Edward shared a look. Edward nodded and stayed with her while the patron of the family went to work on my wolf. He quickly trimmed some of the fur around the wounds so that he could see. I couldn't say what he did next because Seth burst through the trees. His wolf eyes were frantic, his breathing rough. When those eyes hit Shelby, he raced across the clearing without a glance at anything else. He moved to the opposite side of her from Edward, whining.

There was space between Shelby and Jordan that he laid his large body in. Those eyes went from Shelby, to Jordan, to me. The fur under his eyes was wet.

"I know, Seth. I know," I choked out.

"Seth," Shelby whispered. She reached her other hand out to twist in his fur and gripped him harder than she had me or Edward. He and I shared a glance.

"Edward, I'm losing him," Carlisle said quickly. I knelt back down next to my wolf as his breathing went crazy and his eyes rolled even more.

The doc and Edward began talking really fast as they moved their hands in a blur, trying to stop the bleeding and stabilize him.

But they weren't quick enough.

Before I heard his heart give one last beat, he shared a look with Edward who nodded sadly. Then, his breathing stopped and his eyes closed on one last sigh.

Carlisle stopped with his bloody tools and looked up at me. He didn't have to, but he shook his head gently, sadness taking over his eyes. Putting a hand on my shoulder, he turned to his other patient, changing his gloves on the way.

I sat down hard on the ground next to Jordan's body. I felt nothing, but numb. Not even the howls coming from Embry and Christa got through to me. Nor did the other howls rising up to meet theirs, including Seth's. My hand just kept stroking his fur. Something dripped onto my chest, and I realized I was crying. The pain in the howls let me know that they had been with him until his last moments. And I was glad that he'd been with them on his way out.

"I'm sorry, Jacob," the chief said, kneeling next to me.

Immediate rage washed through me. Without looking at him, my hand gripped his throat. I held on as I stood up. The howls in the clearing stopped as Embry and Christa kept the other men away from us, growling and snapping at them viciously.

Lifting the man off his feet, I brought his face to mine. "What the fuck happened?" I growled out.

His eyes widened in fear as he choked, unable to talk around my tightening grip. I loosened my fingers just enough to let him breath and spit out syllables.

"We-we didn't…didn't do this," he choked out between breaths.

"You found them this way?"

His hands came up to grip my wrist, his legs kicking. "Y-yes. My…my men…did." I felt him gulp against my palm. "We ca-called you…immediately."

He was telling the truth because he was too scared not to. Even though he'd seen me phase into a giant dog, that didn't scare him anywhere near what my eyes did now. So, with that knowledge, I released him, letting him drop to the ground. Without another glance for him, I turned back to Edward and Carlisle as they worked on Shelby. Seth had been pacing behind me, watching my back, and now came to stand beside me.

We stood over our fallen brother, protecting him in death, both of us crying over the loss.

**RPOV**

"Caden!" I yelled, running through the tall grass.

When I reached him, the smell of his blood nearly knocked me back on my ass, but I forced myself to grip his shoulder and roll him. A gasp tore its way out of my throat and tears came to my eyes.

He looked like he'd been run over by a tank multiple times and then dragged over a bed of nails. There wasn't a clear spot on his skin. It was bruised and bloody, many places blackened as if he'd been burned.

Those amber eyes seemed brilliantly bright in the now darkness of his skin. At first there was relief in his eyes but it was quickly replaced with panic.

"No," he coughed out. But his voice got stronger the second time around. "No! Nessie, you have to leave. You have to get out of here. Right now."

I shook my head frantically. "I can't just leave you here." The guilt of me sending him back to the pack to get beaten this badly tore at my heart and stomach, making me feel sick with myself.

Though he looked really weak, his grip was tough enough to bruise me as he grabbed my wrist. "Listen to me! Get out of here before-,"

"Well, well, well."

"Tristan," Caden whispered, his eyes widening in fear.

A moment later, two arms grabbed me around the waist and hauled me back. Caden tried to grip my hand but our fingers slipped. I screamed and kicked and scratched.

"No! Let me go!" I screamed. "Jacob!"

Whoever was holding me chuckled at my attempts at calling for help. And strangely that's what calmed me down. He thought I was weak, that I _needed_ help. I forced myself to go limp in his arms and slow my breathing just as Uncle Jasper had taught me. I took inventory of him. He'd picked me up so that my head was higher than his. Which meant that my feet were hanging higher up his body.

When I felt his arms loosen, I kicked back with the heel of my foot, landing a solid hit to his groin. He threw me to the ground, his hands going to the space between his legs, cupping himself. I landed hard on my knees, jarring me, and rolled to sit on the ground to watch him cuss and suffer.

"You stupid bitch," he said in an Italian accent.

From the ground, I finally got a decent look at the werewolf that had tried to kill me twice already. He was tall and broad, like Derek was. But that's where the similarity ended. This man had wavy blond hair to his shoulders, tan skin, and abnormally bright blue eyes. And the emotion in them was as cold as their color. A shiny new scar was healing on his upper lip, making him look even more cruel than handsome.

As I studied him, he'd studied me. A creepy grin slid over his lips, pulling at the scar awkwardly. "I'll enjoy making you pay for that."

"Don't, Tristan," Caden heaved. He'd pushed himself into a crouch. "You're not supposed to touch her."

Tristan shrugged. "They never said I couldn't have her when they were done with her."

Caden's eyes flared in rage. He let out a loud snarl and charged Tristan. Tristan didn't even blink let alone move because a moment later there was a soft yet powerful voice that said, "Enough." At that moment, Caden stopped where he was, his eyes flinching in pain. I could tell that he wanted to scream, but his teeth had pulled his lip into his mouth and bit down hard enough that blood poured down his chin.

A dark figure coming out of the trees took my attention from him. I couldn't see the face, but I recognized the red and black robe. That hood turned to me and I heard Caden fall to the ground, breathing hard. The figure cocked its head, causing the hood to move to the side like a bird.

A moment later, I was doused in pain. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire. Going into convulsions on the ground I screamed and screamed until my throat was rubbed raw. I'd never felt anything like this before, and I felt like I was going to die. It felt like she, yes she, was messing in my brain, rattling things around, pushing the point in my brain that caused my body to react to pain. It felt like she was that one person that pressed the doorbell and leaned on it just to piss someone off.

When she finally released her grip on me, I sagged against the ground and huddled into a ball and whimpered for a while. But being the person I am with the parents that I have, my body isn't good with change. So it snapped back to what it had been before. Even breathing, no pain, and my heartbeat going back to its normal birdlike pace.

Tristan had gotten to his feet, but he wasn't going to stay there long. The moron was too close to me. Moving quickly, I swept my foot out to swipe his feet out from under him. When he landed hard on his back, I brought my heel up and then down again on his groin. Yeah, I'd really like him to try to use that on me now. Idiot.

All the air went out of him and he gripped himself again, rolling onto his side and cussing into the grass. My eyes went back to the concealed woman.

For the life of me, I could remember the woman's name. It had been so long ago that she'd been here, and I was good at blocking out painful memories. All I knew was that she'd scared the life out of me. And I also remembered Dad saying that her ability was mental and wouldn't work on Mom because she was a shield.

I smiled, feeling the bitch's eyes on me, and threw up my mental shield. Her stare bored into my skin, my forehead, but she couldn't touch me now, not with that pain. Unfortunately, that didn't protect Caden. When she couldn't get into my head, she'd turned with a growl to him. His whole body tensed on the ground, but still he didn't make a sound.

Getting to my feet, I advanced on the robed figure. "Stop it! Leave him alone!"

She turned back to me, but before anybody could do anything, a chorus of howls rose into the night. My breathing completely stopped. That was not a good sign. That was Jacob's pack. I tried so hard to make his voice out in the chorus, but there were too many others. But the message was clear: something terrible had happened.

"Quick. Grab her while they're distracted," the robed figure demanded.

Another female came out of the woods, but I knew she wasn't a vampire. Her skin wasn't pale and her eyes were amber, like Caden's. The tint was different than that of my family's. She was tall, slender, and toned. She showed it off by cracking her knuckles menacingly. Her hair was deep red with what looked like blue streaks. It was cut to her jaw line with a slash of bangs across her forehead.

She advanced on me in a smooth glide as I backed up. Unfortunately for me, Tristan had found his feet again. When he grabbed me this time, he made sure to wrap his arms lower on my hips so that I had less use of my legs. Struggling as the girl advanced on me with a hungry grin, I managed to free one of my arms and elbowed Tristan hard in the face. He snarled and growled as I struggled.

But my struggles were cut short. The girl gripped my flailing wrist with one hand. The other she balled into a fist and hauled back, aiming for my face.

She connected, and darkness met me on the other side.

**JPOV**

"How is she, doc?" I asked. I didn't mean for my tone to be flat, but right now, if I allowed myself to feel anything, I'd kill every member of the other tribe in this clearing.

"The wounds are deep, but something tells me that Jordan took the grunt of the blows. My worry right now is infection since we've gotten the bleeding stopped."

"Why isn't she awake?"

"We had to knock her out to perform surgery. The pain of us inside her could have killed her." He put some sort of bandage over each edge of the wounds to hold them together. "If you don't mind, Seth, I'll carry her down to the house. But stay close. She got better when you were closer to her."

Carlisle picked her up while Edward cleaned up the gauze and various other trash. Seth and I both looked down at Jordan's lifeless body. He was gone. The wolf was now just a shell of what had once been a loyal man.

"Go, Seth. I'll get him."

Bending down, I shifted my hands under the wolf's massive body and hauled him up into my arms. It was so hard to believe that this had once been a living, breathing being. And now Jordan was gone. This was all that was left of him.

Swallowing hard to keep my tears at bay, I said, "Keep your phone near you, old man. I will be calling," as I passed him without even looking at him.

The group let us pass without problems back into the woods. Seth was trotting next to Carlisle. He'd ducked his head so that one of Shelby's hands was resting on his muzzle as they walked. Every now and then I could see Edward glance back at me, but I didn't meet his eyes. I couldn't. I was carrying the dead body of one of my pack brothers. What I really needed was to curl up next to Nessie and have her hold me close to her to remind me that Jordan had died protecting an innocent girl, that Carlisle had tried to save him, and that he'd died with his pack around him.

It was a slow trek back to the house. We went a different, easier path back down to the west side of the house. On our way, I handed Jordan's body to Edward gingerly, stopped at one of the large trees, and slipped on a pair of sweats hidden in one of the nooks. Taking Jordan back into my arms, my fight with the tears was lost as I smelled the familiar wolf smell of a brother. The path that we took had led us around the house to the front door. Seth must have told the pack that we were coming because they'd lined up in wolf form on either side of the walkway, including Derek and Adam in human form. I mentally told Edward about the ceremony that needed to be done. He nodded and went to meet up with his brothers. I saw them dart into the woods to gather wood for a suitable pyre.

Jordan's mother and sister were standing there on the porch in front of the door, holding onto each other, tears staining their faces, like mine. They both sobbed harder and louder as Seth and Carlisle moved around them into the house with Shelby and they could suddenly see me walking toward them holding their protector. I knew it was hard for Seth to leave his imprint, but he did, coming to stand closest to the relatives of the dead, his head down in respect. He felt in debt to Jordan for saving her life.

I stood before the two women, tears staining my face and still coming.

"How?" his mother choked out.

"He saved Shelby's life by taking the blow that was meant for her," I managed to choke out as well.

After a moment of another torrent of tears, they both calmed down. His mother, Jenny, placed a hand on my face. "Thank you for bringing my son back to me."

"He was a good man, and an even better brother. It would be my honor to finish this ceremony with you and your daughter."

They glanced at each other and nodded. One stepped to each side of me as I turned to face the yard. I was actually surprised to see the pyre built and the Cullens all standing at the edge of the woods, paying their respects. But I didn't see Nessie. Maybe she was inside with Shelby. As soon as I thought it, I saw Edward frown and shake his head.

Hmmm, where was she? His eyes met mine with a small shrug.

The women each placed a hand on the limp body of their loved one and walked with me to the pyre. I hadn't realized how hard it would be to put Jordan's body down, but it was extremely difficult. If I let him go, it meant he was really gone and we were really about to set fire to the shell that had once belonged to him. Mother and daughter laced an arm through each of mine, resting in the crook of my arms. We helped each other pull back.

Sam came forward in human form with a lighter in his hand. Tears also stained his face. Looking back, I found that the imprints had also come with the call. Emily was cradling her small barely-there baby bump and crying openly. Kim, Rachel, Claire, and a few others were huddled with them. Jordan hadn't been one to imprint so he wasn't leaving someone behind in that regard.

As Sam lit the pyre, a chorus of howls followed the sparks. Sam came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder, gripping tightly. Again, I let my tears go as the fire consumed the form of the wolf. The smell of burning fur and flesh wasn't something that I was fond of, but luckily a breeze swept into the clearing, spreading the scent away from us. Which was good. Jenny and Dora didn't need that to add to their pain.

I gently pulled out from between them and pushed them together. They reached for each other and held on tight. Even though I didn't know them that well, I hugged them to my chest and pressed a kiss into their hair.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered.

Jenny patted my stomach. "He loved being a wolf. Protecting someone was how he wanted to go out. Sure he didn't want to ever go out, but if he did, that would have been how. He got what he wanted."

"Still, I wish it hadn't happened at all. I'll get the bastard that did it. You have my word."

"I know, Jacob. You have always given us justice whether you know it or not."

Not knowing how to respond to that, I gave the girls one last hug before stepping back. They clung to each other, still crying softly. I would have stayed with them until the fire went out, but I needed to know where Nessie was. The pack moved in around them in my place. Nodding at them, I strode over to Edward.

"Where is she?" I demanded.

"I don't know. I can't hear her which really doesn't say much since she can keep me out."

I growled before Seth appeared at my shoulder in human form and jeans. Edward growled viciously as he opened his mouth.

"God, Jake, she's in the woods," he whispered, fresh tears and fear filling his eyes.

I growled.

"Show me."

**RPOV**

I groaned as my head swam, trying to focus.

"Good. She's awake. For a moment there, I thought you'd knocked her into a coma," said an icy voice from in front of me and a little to my left.

"If I'd knocked her into a coma, she wouldn't have been mumbling in her sleep about her guard dog," said another female voice that I didn't recognize.

A growl came from somewhere in the room. The sound bounced through my head making me flinch. I groaned again.

"Maybe we should help her wake up." That icy voice was like sitting in the snow for a couple hours. It was paralyzing.

The pain that suddenly engulfed me stretched my body to the point of bursting. But with the excruciating pain came the memory of just before I'd been knocked out and the fact that I could keep her out. Fighting the force in my mind, I gritted my teeth against the pain, pushing and pushing my mental wall up. It took a few battling moments of her pushing me back, but in the end, my will was stronger. I slammed my mental wall up in her face, but it cost me. I was exhausted and on the verge of passing out again.

That exhaustion dissipated fast when a muffled scream broke out to my right as did the rattle of chains. What the hell was going on? When the scream and rattle became worse, I forced my eyes open. It took a moment to focus, but when I did, I could see that we were in a small cabin. It was the abandoned one that was northeast of my parents' cottage. This place was out of my father's range of reading thoughts. Dammit.

The rattling chains brought my attention back to the people in here with me. In front of me, the robed woman still had her hood up, but I could almost see her face in the flickering light of the candles and fireplace.

Looking to my right, I found the origin of the noise. They'd chained Caden to one of the rafters by his wrists. His feet dangled off the ground. And his body was jerking as that robed figure looked at him.

"Stop! Stop it, you bitch!"

Immediately his body calmed. His chest heaved with the breaths that his body wouldn't allow him as he'd tensed in pain. She came to stand in front of me, face away from the light. I stared up into the black hole of the hood wishing desperately to see her face. Instead, I caught the motion of her hand darting out of the robe. She backhanded me so hard that the force threw me out of the chair that I'd been sitting in. They hadn't tied me down. Apparently, I wasn't a threat. Swallowing and licking my now throbbing cheek and lip, I tasted blood. My bottom lip had split on the right side. I could feel blood drip down to my chin.

I'd landed at the feet of the girl who'd knocked me out the first time. I spit blood on her nice leather boot. That was a mistake. She brought that nice leather boot and connected it to my chest. I was hurled back, my back slamming into the dirt floor. The air had been knocked out of my lungs and I gasped like a fish out of water.

To my left, I could make out Caden jerking in the chains, but it wasn't in pain. Those amber eyes glared at the girl as he yelled something into the piece of cloth that cut around his face, creating a gag.

"What do you want?" I gasped out.

The concealed woman knelt down by me and stroked my hair. Then, her nails dug into my scalp savagely and gripped my hair, using it as a handle to bring my face closer to hers. I could catch a glimpse of white-blonde hair and red eyes. But my eyes weren't working right from being punched, slapped, and then kicked. I couldn't seem to focus.

"I want the justice we were promised nine years ago. You shouldn't have been allowed to live," she hissed.

I gulped. "It was proven that I wouldn't be a danger to vampires. I kept the secret."

Those cruel lips sneered at me. "True. You have been a good girl. But the problem comes from the wolves. They are our enemies, dear. And you plan on mating with one. That makes you a traitor."

"What could you hope to gain by killing me?"

Before she could answer, another chorus of howls rose into the night. The tone of these howls were heartbroken and pain-filled. Again, I tried to pick out Jacob's voice, but I just couldn't.

A moment later, Tristan came through the door, grinning. "They're burning the body."

My heart stopped. The body? That meant someone was dead. Someone I loved and the pack loved was dead and gone. And they were performing the pyre ceremony. Was it Jacob, or was it another wolf? Not minding the grip in my hair, I launched myself at Tristan, nails digging into him.

"What did you do?!" I scratched and punched every area that I could reach. HE growled and struggled for my flailing hands, but it wasn't him to stop me. That grip in my hair was back, hauling me away from Tristan. I was growling and snapping my teeth crazily at him, and I knew my eyes weren't any saner than my body.

Running his hand across his face over one of the scratches, Tristan sneered at me. "Don't fear, girl. Lover boy's still alive. It's the girl and her protector you have to worry about."

My breath caught and my body went limp. But my heart beat again at the thought of Jacob being alive. But then it caught again with another thought. The girl? And her protector? Shelby. It had to be. She'd been in the woods with Jordan, taking a walk.

"That's right," said a cold voice in my ear. "That's what I want. Your pain. Their pain. You die and they'll come for us, but you know they can't win without their own help. And they won't stay put long enough to gather it. Let's not forget that those," she lowered her voice, "peasants won't fight us. They aren't stupid enough to."

"Why?" I choked out in a whisper.

"You and your family made fools out of us. It's time to pay the price."

"And because you've killed our kind," Tristan said, still rubbing at the scratches.

I looked up at him. "What?"

The woman threw me to the ground where I landed limply. "I'll be leaving you four to talk amongst yourselves. I have business to attend to, but never fear. I'll return to finish you off, girl."

Not even that could scare me right now. Something awful had happened to Shelby and Jordan. One or both of them were dead, and the wolves were mourning.

"We didn't do anything to deserve this," I whispered to the floor, tears running down my cheeks.

"You've killed my kind, hunted us down. And you think you didn't do anything to deserve retribution?" Tristan demanded.

"We didn't kill anybody," I said in a heated voice. I was starting to understand all the events of what was happening, everything that had led to this. And it all started with one little twist of the truth. I got to my knees in front of him. "They lied to you."

He smirked. "You royalty always think that you're always right."

"Royalty? Is that what they told you? What she told you?" Laughing, I shook my head. "Look at me! Does it look like I dress as royalty?"

He crossed his arms. "You dress normal so that you don't bring attention to yourself. The yellow eyes of your family tell me that you think you're better than everyone."

"What?! Are you really this stupid? Look at the clothes of the woman that just threatened me! Now that's royalty, dumbass."

"Enough. I'm tired of listening to your lies." He came toward me. "It's time to get you back for those low blows."

The girl in the corner cracked her knuckles again and Caden started jerking on the chains, grunting with the effort. Tristan came forward as I scuttled back on my hands and feet. But he caught up to me. Swiftly he bent down and backhanded me on the other side of my face, the side that the girl had punched me on. Again, I sailed across the room, my back hitting the log wall. By some miracle I'd kept my head from smacking into it, or I'd be passed out again. But I did have to relearn how to breathe again as he came at me.

I really couldn't move until I could get some breath into my lungs or I'd run out of what I did have, so all I could do was sit there as he crouched down at my feet.

He licked his lips as he studied me. "Don't worry. I'll be done quickly."

My eyes widened as Caden jerked even more wildly on his chains, making the rafter creak with the pressure.

With a chuckle, Tristan reached for me.

**JPOV**

_I'm sorry, Jake_, Seth thought again as I followed him up the path.

_Seth-,_

_No, Jacob. I should have stayed with her. She said that she was right behind me. But as soon as I caught Shelby's scent, I-I…_

_I know, man. I understand. Let's just concentrate on finding her. Shelby's safe. Now let's save her best friend, ok?_

_You're still angry with me._

_True, but I understand the circumstances. _

He nodded and concentrated on the path they'd run together.

_Wait, stop. Here. This is where she stopped. I was further uphill._

The Cullens put their noses to work just as Seth, Leah, and I put our noses to the ground. Seth had moved to the right of the path and I followed him. He'd seen her in this spot last. It wasn't before long that my nose picked up her scent. Edward caught it in my mind. He came over to us and sniffed around the trees and plants. I followed suite. Eventually both of us picked it up, the others following us.

We followed the scent deeper into the woods. Another scent mixed with it. That scent of disease and the one that Nessie had put into her vision of Caden. That smell of tart apple was mixed in with blood and disease. The smell got stronger and stronger. Leah shook her head and whimpered a little.

_That's his scent?_

_Damn, Leah. I'm sorry. I should have brought someone else._

_No. I'm good. I want to be here. We need to find them._

_Them?_

_Jacob, for the smell of his blood to be this strong, something had to have happened to him. And though Nessie's tough, I don't think she could cause that much damage._

Well, hell. She had a point. If we went with that logic, he wasn't double-crossing us. He'd really been trying to help. Edward had been right.

Eventually we came to a small clearing that was overgrown. The grass was nearly to my ribcage. I caught Nessie's scent again. It had clung to grass that she'd walked through. Caden's scent must have found her on the trail and she'd followed it. Her thinking would be that she knew I was out with two other wolves and Seth on his way. She was putting my safety before hers and trying to redeem herself of how she'd treated Caden by going to get him.

I took the lead in following her scent. It led me to a small flattened patch of grass. There were spots and various puddles of blood. Growling, I inspected them. A sigh of relief came when I found that none of them belonged to her. Edward met me there, shaking his head.

"She's not here. And her scent ends here. Someone covered it up."

_Then we follow the scent they used to cover up. There has to be one._

He nodded. "There was a faint scent. Wolf in nature."

I growled. _Where?_

I followed him to the edge of the woods. It took me a moment to catch the smell, but I did and passed it on to the others. They nodded and growled.

"Before we go, get ready for a fight. If it's her they wanted, they'll fight to keep her."

The three of us wolves growled and snarled, tramping our paws into the grass and dirt.

Emmett stepped forward, cracking his knuckled. "Then let's go get my niece."

As one well-oiled machine, wolves and vampires darted into the woods.

**RPOV**

Tristan pulled me by my ankle onto my back. He straddled my body on his hands and knees. Even though I hadn't caught my breath fully, my chest heaved up and down. Caden kept working at his chains, making his wrists bleed. Blood had run down his arms and over his chest. The anger in his eyes should have caught Tristan on fire. I kind of wish he'd had that power right about now.

Tristan moved in a flash, gripping my wrists in one hand and lifted them over my head. I struggled but he'd fully recovered where I hadn't. I just didn't have the strength. Those impossibly blue eyes left my face and moved down to my chest, studying the mark that Jacob had left on my skin. My breasts had been further pushed up by arms going over my head. Sitting back on his knees, he used his free hand to circle the bruise in amusement. Then he did what I had expected him to do: he dragged his hand over first one breast and then over to the other. Growling, I jerked my body trying to throw him off me. It didn't work. He was too solid above me.

"You really are beautiful, except for the half vampire part. No wonder the alpha picked you."

I growled and spit in his face. Uncle Emmett had taught me how to spit properly so that it wouldn't just end up all over my chin.

He growled back and dropped his weight on me, hips digging into mine. I whimpered.

"Let's give you a mark to remember me by, shall we?" he whispered against my face as he dug his hips further into mine. Disgustingly, I could feel the hardness of him press into my lower stomach. The feeling made me want to throw up.

His free hand came back up off my body to grip my neck and jaw to turn my head. I tried to fight him, but he was just too strong. His breath caressing my shoulder felt like acid on my skin. Those lips brushing the skin of my collarbone slid across me like rough sandpaper. But what hurt the most were his teeth digging into the side of my neck like a papercut between the skin of my toes. It stung and burned even though I was sure that he wasn't breaking the skin.

I couldn't say anything, beg, because his thumb was pressing into my windpipe making it hard to breathe. So all I did was cry. His body had dropped on top of me and his weight kept me pinned. Tristan was tall, broad, and muscular. He probably matched Jacob in the weight department, and there was no way I was going to be able to push him off of me.

The harder he bit me, the harder his thumb pressed into my throat, cutting off my oxygen. I was perilously close to passing out again. Grey and black spots started eating at my vision.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack, a rattle of chains and a shout that was abruptly cut off. Before I knew it, I saw something shiny in front of my face. It separated Tristan from my skin and pulled him back as it settled down around his throat. And I realized that it was the length of chain that had been attached to Caden. A vicious growl ripped through the room as Tristan's eyes widened. His fingers struggled to loosen the chains. Caden had put him down on his knees and was choking him with the chain. My neck throbbed from his teeth.

But a moment later, Caden's body jerked. He turned just enough that I could see the female wolf behind him. Her face was bloody from where Caden probably punched her, but what caught my attention was her hand. She held it up again. Out of her fingertips were claws like switchblades. Somehow she'd brought out her wolf claws the way cats can detract and retract their claws.

I saw where this was heading. Those claws were raised, aiming for his neck. Even though I didn't have the strength, I hauled my ass off the ground and used that momentum to launch myself around her waist. It surprised her so she didn't have a defensive stance. I took her to the ground. Using her surprise against her, I straddled her waist, cocked my hand back and smashed her face again as hard as I could. Her head snapped back against the packed dirt floor. Those amber eyes rolled and she passed out.

"Karma's a bitch," I whispered and slid off of her to sit on the floor.

Tristan had somehow gotten free of Caden and they were duking it out. Both of them also had done the claw thing and were using them to cut each other up. Tristan caught Caden in the stomach and he fell to his knees, bent over the wound. Tristan was grinning maniacally but not for long. Caden used his lack of defense against him and swiped behind Tristan's knees. Tristan's legs collapsed and Caden tackled him. Tristan's claws kept coming around the back of Caden and stabbing him the sides and back.

Getting up off my ass again, I stumbled over to them, my neck still throbbing. I went to stand over Tristan and finally managed to get his wrists under my feet. Me holding him down allowed Caden to beat the crap out of him, punching and stabbing him wherever he could reach.

But our victory didn't last long. A moment later, the door burst open, making the candles flicker. Though I lived with a bunch of vampires, my eyes were still too slow to follow the movement of the robed figure throwing Caden across the cabin to hit the wall and land in a groaning heap. A second later, a hand slammed into my stomach, slamming me back. I skidded over the table, curling up for the impact of my back against yet another wall. Candles skittered off the table and onto the floor. Where some landed in the dirt and were extinguished, some had rolled so that their flames were against the wall…the log wall. The smell of rotted wood burning was not a happy thought with me mentally scrambled and Caden the same on the other side of the cabin.

"Grab your wolves and set the cabin on fire. Help the candles."

"Wait, I want to finish her."

"We don't have time," the woman hissed as he took Tristan by the collar. "They're coming for her. We should have killed her in the clearing but, no, I let you have fun with her. Now it's time to leave."

Some people had come in. They picked up the girl who I'd knocked out. Two of them were helping Tristan up off the floor. Another female vampire had come to stand next to the woman in charge. The girl was staring at me with fear in her eyes. There was no way I could move. My body had apparently decided to give up on me. My head and neck were throbbing.

"Let's take her with us."

"No! We'll have to come up with another plan." The woman took a deep breath. "You'll get your chance at the alpha, but right now, we have to leave. There aren't enough of us to win a battle with them."

Tristan nodded stiffly, clearly not happy that he wasn't getting his way. "Fine. Caden stays, too."

The woman turned to the female beside her. "Wipe their memories of us. But for this to work in our favor they have to remember the wolves."

The girl bit her lip and her red eyes turned to me.

"If we're just going to burn them, why spend the effort, Jane?"

The woman, Jane, slapped the girl across the face. "Because, you stupid idiot, the girl's father can read minds. If she's thinking about us before she dies and he's in range, he'll hear it."

"But-,"

"Do it, Abigail. Or do I have to show you what happens to people who disobey orders again?" The voice was cold as ice.

I couldn't fight her off when she came to put a hand on my forehead. There was one thought in my mind that I knew wasn't mine before I passed out.

It was, _I'm sorry._

I really couldn't have said how long I was out, but it must have been a good fifteen minutes. When I woke up, I thought that there was something wrong with my eyes before I realized that it was smoke. But my brain felt fuzzy. My chest was tight when I tried to breath. Coughing, I forced myself off the table. Bright orange light danced on the edges of my vision. I didn't get far. The black and grey spots were back and I fell to my knees. But that helped. The smoke was trying to rise so the floor was a little better. Taking a deep breath, or as deep as I could, I crawled in the direction that I'd last seen Caden.

He was sprawled on the floor, coughing. When I reached him, I tugged on his arm. "Come on," I coughed out. "We have to get out of here."

He groaned and rolled onto his side, coughing. Blood poured out of his mouth. The grey spots had turned black and more of my vision was being eaten up. Above me, there was a loud snapping noise.

Caden's eyes snapped up before mine could. "Nessie!" He moved so fast that I didn't have time to react. Sweeping me into his arms, he pushed us back just as a burning rafter landed exactly where I had been. Caden had been fast but not fast enough. The rafter slapped him on the back of the head, knocking him out. When he fell, he fell on top of me, knocking the breath out of me.

That was my last straw.

Darkness welcomed me back to its arms.

* * *

**Ok so, sad right? I know, I'm sorry. I cried, too. Just remember that. And as always, please review. I also don't mind and PMs if you would like to talk to me about the story. I will answer you. As Jacob likes to say, I promise. You guys are so freaking awesome. I am currently wrapping up the chapters on this story and will soon start the sequel so don't go too far if you liked this one. Hopefully the sequel will be just as good. xoxoxoxoxo**


	32. Author's Note 4

***deep breath* Alright guys, yes, another author's note. But I have another vote for you guys. A lot of you seem to like the Volturi being involved, which is great. But I've also gotten some rather ****_unhappy_**** comments about how unoriginal it is. And quite frankly, I was on the fence about using them anyway.**

**SO! Here's the deal. I'm going to give you guys some choices and til 5pm on Thursday to make your choices. One vote per person. Of course if you're a guest, I'd have to count you if you leave your name as guest, but please don't. Unfortunately, I will not update on the story until then. It will give me time to write more.**

**Here are your choices:**

**1) I can finish this story the way it is and continue on with Jane and whatnot.**

**2) I can finish this story the way it is for those who like it BUT I can also write an alternate ending. Keep in mind that if I do an alternate ending, I would also have to write two separate sequels for them to play out correctly. That would mean a lot slower updating time since I have extremely wacked out schedules on a weekly basis.**

**3) I can take down this last chapter, rewrite it completely without the Volturi, have a different bad lady. and continue on from there as if the last chapter did and didn't happen. (Some things would be changed)**

**4) I can continue this story, finish it and the other two stories, and then write a different set of stories without the Volturi.**

**Now, the choice is completely up to you. Please don't message me saying that I am the author and make my own decisions. You guys are the fans that keep me wanting to write, so I am leaving it up to you. Making the fans happy is what it's all about. So I am giving you guys a couple days for all of you to check back in and review. Review on this note with a number 1-4. If you want to list the reason, feel free. I won't be just taking your votes into consideration. Your votes ****_WILL_**** determine how this all plays out. I'm all about making ****_you_**** happy since you've all supported me.**

**I really do apologize to all those freaking out about the "EPIC cliffy" of the last chapter, but I would like to get this issue squared away first.**

**Thank you all for your time and support of this story. It means a lot to me. That's why I'm taking this seriously.**

**-Laura xoxoxoxo**


	33. Chapter 29

**Alrighty, guys! As promised, I'm posting again tonight. Now, a lot of you did put your votes in and I realized I should have done a poll, but anywhozzle. I do appreciate all of the input I received, all the votes and explanations. They were all great and all made perfect sense. I wasn't rooting for a certain outcome. Any one of them I could have worked with. But, I was kind of surprised with Choice #1 winning. A lot of you were not happy with my decision on involving Jane or the Volturi at all so I expected a lot more 3's.**

**However, some of you might like to know the results. Here they are:**

**Choice 1- 30**

**Choice 2- 0**

**Choice 3- 4**

**Choice 4- 6**

**So as promised, here is the continuation of last chapter. To all of those who wanted me to change it, I have to go with majority because I left this decision up to my readers. If you don't want to read anymore or unfavorite me, that's fine. I understand.**

**This is the chapter before the last one. I am still working on that one, and you shall get it tomorrow. Or if I'm feeling froggy, you might get it tonight. ;)**

**OH OH OH, I have to make a shout out to BlondBanana for their epic, epic, epic review for Ch. 28. It totally made my day. You're awesome as are all of my readers and reviewers.**

**Please enjoy!**

**JPOV**

We ran fast. But when I smelled smoke, Edward caught it in my mind, and picked up his pace. I followed, yipping at the others to follow.

It wasn't long before we burst into yet another overgrown clearing. But this one was a lot bigger and was occupied by a burning cabin. The cabin hadn't been anywhere near newly built. It was one of those old log affairs with dirt floors, one room, and wood-burning stove.

Edward was standing there looking both horrified and confused. There was movement to the right of the cabin that caught my attention. The back end of a dark grey wolf disappeared into the trees. Growling viciously, I took off after it. That smell of disease flooded my senses making my brain pound and nose burn.

I was right at the edge of the woods where it had disappeared when I saw it there in the shadows. He'd gone deeper into the trees, limping, but I didn't care. I lunged forward to swipe at his hid quarter. He jumped around growling and snapping. This was the wolf that Nessie had shown me that had come after her. I stood up to my full height and let out a vicious snarl. For a moment, he shrank back, eyes widening, but then he gathered himself up and snarled right back. A second later, he charged at me, head low. But he was slower than he normally would have been. There must have been wounds that I couldn't see. That was fine. I could use his slowness against him.

As he came at me, I sidestepped him, wrapping my teeth around his neck. Biting down as hard as I could, I tried to drag him down to the ground where I could get a paw on his head, but that didn't work. He struggled, paws flailing. One of them caught first one of my front paws and then the other. My legs were swept out from under me. In my surprise, my jaws had loosened allowing him to rip himself away from me. We went to the ground in a rolling, growling heap.

His back leg caught me in the chest, knocking out my air. I lay there gasping in the night air as he slowly got his feet under him. He was advancing on me when another yip came from the woods in the direction he'd been heading.

While he was distracted, I was able to catch Edward's voice.

"She isn't with them, Jacob. She's in the cabin," he choked out.

I thought at him viciously, _Well, go get her!_

"Jacob! We can't. Fire is the only surety of our deaths."

_I'll get her, Jake, _Seth said.

_No! I'll get her. _I _had _to be the one to get her, especially since I was blind enough to let this happen to her.

_It was my fault, Jake. I left her behind._

_Seth, I'm coming for her._

As I brought my attention back to the threat in front of me, I found that he was standing above me, hackles raised. I growled and snarled viciously and started to my paws. He didn't let me. A moment later, he raised his paw and swiped his claws across my front right leg, going deep. That leg went out from under me again, and I couldn't get it to hold my weight. I tried and tried to push myself away from him.

This was it. I was at his mercy with a bum leg. He advanced on me, but I didn't whimper or cringe back. I raised my hackles defiantly. A growl and yip came from the woods just as he was about to lunge for me. Looking back over his shoulder, he growled back. As he turned back to me, a tan and black blur blindsided him, crashing him away from me.

_Go get her, Jake. I got this,_ Seth growled out.

_Seth-,_

_GO!_

"Jacob!" Bella screamed from the clearing.

Nessie! Oh, god, I had to get off this ground. Gritting my teeth, I treated the deep wound like I had the bullet wound and forced myself to put weight on it. What killed me was that I had to pick my way carefully through the trees or I'd collapse the leg again.

But once I was free of the trees and saw how badly the fire had progressed, I charged for the front door of the cabin, not even thinking about the fire or my wound. The only thought on my mind was Nessie. If she died, nothing would ever matter to me again.

When I burst through, smoke engulfed me. Once the smoke had started billowing out the front door, I could see a little better. Rafters were falling here and there. I moved quickly through the room and found a pile of something under a rafter in the very back. About to pass it up, I turned around, but caught sight of something. A single curl of long bronze hair.

Darting back over there, I found that the reason I hadn't seen her was that Caden was passed out on top of her. He'd been beaten bloody and black so he'd blended in with the surroundings too well. Phasing back to human, I rolled him over out from under the rafter. There were deep gouges in his stomach that were bleeding pretty badly. But then I saw Nessie. The sight of her made me see red. She'd been beat up pretty badly as well. Rolling her over, I gently picked her up in my arms. My ripped up arm screamed in protest at her weight. I told it to shut up.

I was torn. The building wasn't going to last long with the way the rafters were falling. I had to get Nessie out of here, but I didn't want to leave the guy who'd saved her life.

"Go," I heard in a weak voice. Glancing down at him, I found that his eyes were barely opened but they were staring at me. "Get her out of here," he rasped. When I hesitated, he leaned up and yelled, "GO!"

I nodded at him, tucked her head into my chest, and went for the door. Dodging the rafters was tricky because they were everywhere and Nessie's hair was still loose. I didn't want to catch her on fire, so I picked my way carefully through the room. But my lungs were starting to have problems with the smoky air. I started coughing with the door in sight. I could glimpse the clear, dark night through the smoke. My eyes watered and burned cutting off those glimpses. Forcing myself to keep walking because of the woman in my arms, I made it to the door just as my knees started turning to jelly. Stumbling out of the cabin, coughing, I walked as far away from the burning building as I could and fell to my knees, cradling Nessie close to me.

Immediately, Bella and Edward were there in front of me, taking her from my arms. I watched carefully as Carlisle checked her over. Her pulse must have been good because he went to check any wounds she had. I seethed at the thought that she had any wounds at all. After he'd checked Nessie, Carlisle knelt in front of me as I threw my good arm to the ground to hold myself up and dragged some fresh air into my lungs. Before the doc could get his claws into me, I motioned for him to go back to Nessie.

"Check on her. Caden's still in there."

"You can't go back in there, Jacob. You'll die. Already you're about to pass out. Do you really want to leave her?"

I gripped his arm and then pushed him away from me. "I don't have a choice." I started to get back to my feet, keeping my eyes on Nessie's still form in Edward's arms as Carlisle went over to her. A moment later, a blur passed me heading for the cabin. The scent that hit me told me it was Leah. "Leah!" I yelled. "Don't!"

But it was too late. She was already inside, searching for her imprint. Even though she couldn't trust him, she couldn't bear to leave him behind.

"Dammit," I whispered, and hoped like hell that she got out of there in one piece.

Anxiously I stood there, staring at the burning cabin, praying that she came out. Seth had come to stand beside me, whimpering and whining, rubbing his cheek against my arm. Bringing a hand up, I rubbed along his wet muzzle.

"She'll be fine. She has to be. I can't lose two in one night."

But my hope was cut short when a series of cracks came from the cabin. It felt like the world was moving in slo-mo as I stood by Seth and watched the building collapse in a cloud of fire and smoke. There were small explosions here and there, fire busting out the glass in the windows causing it to fly. Instinctively, I moved in front of Edward who was still holding Nessie in his arms.

Seth whined and whimpered even more, pawing at the ground. He started racing for the rubble but I managed to grab the end of his tail. He jerked to a stop. Reaching back he snarled and tried to bite me. I smacked his muzzle.

"You can't go in there!" I turned to Edward. "Can you hear them?"

He tore his eyes away from his daughter and tuned in to his surroundings. After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah. They're around here somewhere."

I jogged to the side of the cabin, cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, "Leah! Caden!"

Nothing.

I tried again.

But this time, I got an answer. It was faint but it was coming from the back. Looking back at Seth, I jerked my head in that direction. He loped over to me, rubbing his side against me as he passed. I followed him at a jog.

Leah came into sight. I wanted to look away because she was naked, but we'd all made a deal to ignore it if it ever came up, so I kept walking forward. She'd dragged Caden back to the tree line. Her back was to a tree and he was sprawled across her lap. That's why her voice had been faint. Somehow she'd been able to pull him all the way back here. She smiled and stroked Seth's muzzle as he huffed into her hair, rubbing on her.

I knelt in front of her. "You ok, Leah?"

She nodded, closing her eyes.

"Good." I smacked her foot to get her to look at me. "Don't you ever do that to me again. I already lost Jordan. There's no way I'd be able to handle losing you."

She smiled again. "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

I grinned. "Yeah well, don't get too used to it. You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry. How's Nessie?"

"Carlisle's with her now. I think she's just passed out from the smoke."

"Uh, Jake, that blood didn't come from her passing out," she said in a whisper.

Scrubbing my face with my hands, I growled. "I know that. I just don't want to think about that right now. I just need to know that everyone's ok."

She shifted, pulling her legs out from under Caden. "Well, help me get him up. Carlisle needs to look at him. I do recall that he was a pretty white boy. These bruises weren't there before."

Finally, I looked at him. She was right. He'd been beaten and stabbed multiple times. We both leaned down and grabbed one of his arms. The wind had changed, blowing the smoke our way making us cough. Seth lay down on his stomach in front of us, telling us that he'd carry Caden. We laid the unconscious werewolf across Seth's shoulders. He stood up gently and we walked back around the burning rubble.

Honestly, we must have been a sight for sore eyes. Leah and I were naked and covered in soot. Caden looked like he'd been tied to a truck and dragged over the interstate at a hundred miles an hour. Seth was the only normal looking one in our group.

Carlisle came over to us to check Caden's vitals. He nodded. "Let's get them back to the house so I can clean them up properly."

Nodding, I phased back and loped over to Edward and Bells. One of Nessie's hands was loose and I copied Seth with Shelby, nudging the hand with my muzzle so that it rested there. Surprisingly, Nessie's had twitched and tightened over my muzzle and I heard her sigh.

I glanced up at Edward. He gave me a shocked yet contemplative look. "She's still passed out, but she knows you're here. Her heart beat just got stronger."

Maybe what Adam had said was right. Maybe there was more to imprinting than we originally thought. Putting that aside for now, I was just happy that she was alive.

Edward hugged his daughter to him. "Come on. Let's go home. This place makes me seethe."

I agreed with him. If I never saw this place again, it would be too soon.

**Later that night at the Cullen house.**

The house was quiet even though it was full to bursting with wolves and vampires. My back was to the wall next to Nessie's bedroom door. Carlisle and Bella were in there right now cleaning her up. I'd wanted to be in there so bad but they were undressing her. Nessie wouldn't want me to see her for the first time like that, so I'd opted to sit outside. Seth was sitting against the wall on the other side of Shelby's room as Edward checked on her. They'd put Caden in Alice and Jasper's room, and Leah was down with him.

Claire was curled up in my lap, asleep. She'd been working on another bracelet, but she'd been shaking so hard that she hadn't been able to finish it. I'd stroked her hair until she fell asleep.

The wolves were mourning Jordan yet celebrating him. And Nessie was alive as were Shelby and Caden. Nessie was the last to be worked on. Carlisle had said that it was a miracle that Caden had survived at all. He had massive internal bleeding, deep gashes and stab wounds, and broken bones.

Nessie, he'd reported, wasn't near as bad. All of her wounds were surface. He'd given me that report as he cleaned out and bandaged the gouges on my upper right arm and shoulder. That wolf, Tristan I'd remembered, had done a number on me. Carlisle said he'd gotten close to a nerve.

"What happened with Tristan, Seth?" I asked as we both leaned against our section of wall.

He shook his head against the wall. "Nothing. Another wolf growled at him, and then he turned tail and ran off."

"Well, thanks for doing what you did. I couldn't have fought him off."

He shrugged. "I had to make up for what I did. There was no excuse for leaving her behind like that."

"Seth, Shelby was in trouble. Once you smelled her blood, Nessie left your thoughts." I sighed. "I hate to say it, but if I had been in your position, I would have probably done the same thing. I'm glad you were there though. It looked like she got stronger once you got there. You reminded her of her reason to fight."

We met each other's eyes in understanding and nodded.

Edward came out of Shelby's room and looked down at Seth, who stood up in a flash. "She's stable, but still out. The wounds were deep so we're keeping her on morphine until they heal up a bit more."

"Can I lay with her?"

Edward thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Gently." Then, he came over to sit next to me, stroking Claire's hair.

Seth gave me a glance, but tried to hide it. I smiled. "Go ahead, Seth. She needs you. I've got Edward to keep me company."

He nodded and quietly rushed into Shelby's room.

"They're going to come back, Jacob," Edward whispered.

Pressing my head into the wall, I glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"Those other wolves. They'll be back. For her. For you. If we're not careful, Jordan won't be the only one we lose."

I sighed. "Edward, I know this. Please, let's not talk about it right now."

He nodded. "Very well. Do you need anything?"

At that moment, my stomach rumbled. I hadn't eaten anything all day. Edward chuckled, getting up off the floor. I was left alone with a snoozing eleven year old and myself for company. With no excitement right now, I was dead tired.

So I leaned my head back against the wall and fell into a fitful sleep.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been out, but I woke to Claire gently slapping my face and chest.

"Uncle Jake, Mr. Carlisle came out."

Reaching up I gripped her small hand and held it away from my face. "Thank you, Claire. I am effectively awake." My eyes rolled up to Carlisle. "Hey, doc. How is she?"

"She's fine. When you go in there, don't freak out. I put her on an oxygen line to get some clean air into her lungs."

"She still out?"

He nodded. "Her eyes are moving and Edward says that she's dreaming, though it's all just a jumbled mess. You can go in now, as well."

I held my hand out to him even though I was sitting down. "Thanks, doc."

"I'm going to go check on Shelby and Caden once more if you need anything," he said, taking my hand.

I nodded and looked at Claire. "I know you wanna see Nessie-,"

"Aunt Nessie," she said with a stern look.

Nodding, I continued, "Ok, I know you wanna see Aunt Nessie, but could you do me a favor?"

Her eyes darted between me and the door. Finally, she sighed and nodded.

I smiled at her. "Could you go downstairs and tell everybody that the three of them will be ok?"

She sighed again. "You're trying to get rid of me, aren't you? The whole house already heard that from downstairs."

I chuckled and smoothed her hair behind her ear. "Pretty please?"

Those dark eyes rolled. "Ok." She climbed out of my lap to turn around and kiss me on the cheek. "Love you, Uncle Jake."

"Love you, too, Clairebear."

Getting up off the floor, I watched as she made her way down the stairs. I took a deep breath before softly opening the door to the room that I'd been sharing with Nessie for years. It then occurred to me that all this time, I'd been calling it her room, not our room. Not sure why I'd thought about that, I pushed further into the room. The drapes on the far window-wall were open, letting in the moonlight. There was medical equipment set up next to the bed. Her finger was attached to that clip that's attached to a heart monitor. At first it scared me how fast it was going, but then I remembered that her heart rate was abnormally fast anyway, and I calmed down a little.

Before I actually looked at her, I pulled up the chair that had been brought up here and slid in next to the bed. Taking in a deep breath, I lifted my eyes to her face. Both of her cheeks were deeply bruised. Her lip was busted on one side. Someone had braided her hair into a long rope so the bruise and bite mark on her neck were visible. The mark that I'd given her was still there.

Bella had changed her into one of my white tanks, probably to give her some breathing room, because she wasn't wearing a bra either. The oxygen line was wrapped around her ears and set under her nose. Her breathing was deep and even. I could see that her right hand was busted up, the knuckles bloody.

That made me smile. My girl had fought back.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," I said.

It was Edward with a plate of food and glass of water. "I thought you might like some food so that your stomach doesn't wake her up."

I chuckled. A baked potato and a grilled chicken breast was what he'd brought me. "Thanks, Edward." After he set the food down, I asked him what I'd been wondering. "What is she seeing?"

He sighed and leaned against the dresser, crossing his arms. "It's chaotic."

"Please try," I whispered.

He frowned and a thoughtful look came over his face. "You. Everything I see is you. And worry. The wolves' howling keeps coming back. I guess she's wondering if it was you that was hurt." He jerked his chin to me. "Go ahead and touch her, Jacob. She won't break."

And that's exactly what I had been scared of. I was so scared that if I touched her, she'd vanish in a cloud of smoke. Swallowing hard, I put a shaky hand around hers. The frown on Edward's face turned to a smile. Her fingers gripped mine as she sighed and snuggled down into the bed. I hadn't realized how tense she'd been until I watched it leave her.

"There," Edward whispered. "Her thoughts are steady again."

"Really?"

He nodded, but then he frowned again. "Wait, why can I see her thoughts but you can't? She's touching you."

I frowned, too. "Maybe she's cutting me off."

"It's possible. It could be another evolution of her ability. Her subconscious may be cutting off her ability to share by projection."

When he started talking, she sighed again, and this time a small smile played over her lips. And suddenly the wall broke. I could see what she was dreaming. Our first kiss after this whole mess. When she finally woke up, she was dreaming of how much she wanted to be in my arms.

I shook my head out of the dream long enough to find that Edward had quietly left us to have this moment. Looking back at her, I had to hold back a sound that I never thought I'd make: a sob. The bruise and bite mark on her neck told me just how much more danger she'd been in. She'd been at the mercy of another man, a man that had disrespected her and nearly violated her even more than he already had by putting that mark on her neck. It was bruised and the skin had nearly been broken.

Another man had nearly taken Nessie away from me. And she'd fought back so that she could come home to me.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. Bringing her hand to my lips, I sobbed, eventually resting my head on the bed, clutching her hand to me.

**Two days later**

**RPOV**

My first conscious thought was that my body hurt and my throat felt like sand had been poured down it. My second was that something was on my face.

Reaching up to grab it, another hand gripped my wrist. "Easy there, love," said a familiar accented voice.

Opening my eyes was like ripping a Band-Aid off a sensitive spot but I managed it. Luckily it was dark outside because my drapes had been pushed open.

I looked over to find Caden sitting in a chair next to the bed, smiling at me. "You're alive," I croaked out. And then coughed.

He shook his head. "You never listen, do you? I said easy, not try to do everything at once." He reached over to the bedside table a grabbed a glass with a bendy straw. "Here, this should help."

I took what he offered and he was right. It felt so good. The water slid down my throat a little rough at first, but after another swallow or two it was smooth and cold.

"Thank you." My voice was still rough but at least it didn't hurt to talk.

"You're welcome. And to answer you, yes, I am alive. Thanks to you and your man. So thank _you._"

I cleared my throat and pushed myself up onto my pillows. My stomach screamed at me. Lifting up the really large tank, I found a giant blue and black bruise that ran the length of my torso, but I couldn't remember how I'd gotten it. I remembered that I'd hit the wall after the blow made me skid over a table, but the memory of who'd given it to me was a complete blank. My neck was throbbing from the bite mark and from Tristan's hand squeezing down on my windpipe.

Caden didn't look much better. Scratches and bruises covered the top half of his body. The swipe Tristan had taken to his stomach was stitched up but still ragged. All of his skin was bruised. His wrists were covered in white gauze. If I tried, I could remember his wrists rubbed raw and bleeding.

He grinned at me.

"What?"

"You're not going to ask me about him?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm happy that you're ok, but…"

"Where's Jacob?" he asked for me.

I nodded sheepishly.

His smile turned soft. "He's passed out on the couch downstairs. For the past two nights, he's slept in here beside you. But he went down earlier to get something to eat and he just passed out, I think." He frowned and shook his head. "Everybody keeps talking about how quiet it is when he's sleeping, like it's something bad."

I couldn't the laugh, but it freaking hurt, so I stopped. "Jake snores like a chainsaw when he's asleep. He must not really be sleeping well. They're worried about him."

"And you," he said, patting my hand. "They're worried about you and Shelby."

I gripped his hand. "So Shelby's ok?"

The look on his face told me that whatever had happened to her was serious. "She'll live," he said cryptically.

"What does that mean?" When he didn't answer me, I squeezed his hand. "Please. She's my best friend."

He sighed. "She was cut up by one of my kind at the same time Jordan was-yeah."

He said that like it explained everything. It didn't. All it told me was that Jordan was the one that had died. My chest tightened in pain with that realization. I was sad that he was gone but happy that Shelby was alive. He'd probably protected her as best he could. He had been her guard after all.

He sighed again. "Nessie, that means that next month's full moon will be her first shift."

"Shift?"

I saw him swallow hard and take a deep breath. "She's like me now. We call it shifting. Your wolves call it phasing."

I felt my eyes widened. "She's a werewolf?"

He nodded. "Even after they washed her up, I could smell the disease. It's already kicked in. The wounds she received would take a human weeks to heal. But the wounds are closing up quickly. Carlisle had to take the stitches out, which shouldn't have had to happen for at least two to three weeks. Once she wakes up, her senses will probably heighten. Hearing, sight, smell. All of that will be sensitive. The one thing that she won't have is the easy transition. Shifting for your wolves is instantaneous. With us, it's a process. It takes a good two minutes for the entire change to happen. It's not pretty, and it hurts like a bitch."

"But you'll help her, right?"

What he was saying terrified me. But the important thing was that she was alive and would stay that way.

Caden squeezed my hand. "Of course. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon unless someone kills me or kicks me out."

I smiled and shook my head. "Not going to happen. Jacob and I owe you for all that you've done for us. This is your home now should you choose to take it."

He brought my hand to his mouth. "Thank you, love. It's been a long time since I've had a home."

"Well, you do now. And I'm sure you need to get used to Leah."

He chuckled. "Now that's a woman right there."

"Gee, thanks," I grumbled.

"I didn't mean any offense. You're also quite a woman. All the pack ladies are. I definitely approve."

We smiled at each other before he patted my hand again. "Go to your male. I'm sure he'd like to actually rest while he sleeps."

Caden helped me out of the wires. Not wanting to go downstairs dressed as I was, I slipped one of Jacob's old long-sleeved t-shirts over the tank of his that someone had put me in. My hair was braided in a rope over my shoulder. When we left my room, Caden went for the bathroom. Looking down the hall, I found out why. Dad was standing in the hallway with a sad smile on his face.

"Daddy," I breathed. He held his arms out and I ran into them, wrapping my arms around his neck. The tears were uncontrollable. "I love you so much, daddy."

He hugged me as tight as he dared, but I could tell he was holding back. He'd held me harder before.

"I love you so much, too, baby. I'm so sorry."

I pulled back to look at him. "Why are you sorry? Did something else happen?"

He shook his head. "I should have gone in there after you. Instead, Jacob had to save you."

Putting a hand to his face, I shook my head. "Daddy, you couldn't have gone in that cabin. Fire is dangerous to you. I know you wanted to. I really do know that. And I'm not mad at you."

"Really?" he whispered.

"Really. I'm just happy that someone pulled me out. I will never ever think less of you if that's what you're afraid of. You are still my father and I will always come to you when I need you. I'm a Daddy's girl."

He squeezed me gently, his smile happier this time. "Yes, you are."

"What about a Momma's girl?" came a voice behind Dad.

"Momma," I whispered again as the tears started back up. Dad let me go so that I could run around him to throw myself at my mother. I buried my face in her hair the way I used to do when I was small and inhaled the scent of strawberries.

"Definitely a Momma's girl, too. I love you, Momma. So much."

She stroked my back and rocked me as Dad came up behind me. He wrapped us both in his arms, and we just stood like that for a while. But Momma pulled back to press her hand to my face and grin as she stared at me.

"I love you, too, my little nudger."

Smiling, I remembered hearing her voice when she was still pregnant with me calling me that. I kissed her cheek and hugged her again, my tears dripping into her hair. I felt Daddy's lips on the back of my head as he squeezed us.

After about five minutes, we all pulled back at the same time. Dad wiped my face with his sleeve and pulled Mom to him.

"I think you should go to Jacob. He's been lost without you," Mom said in a sad voice.

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "He's been roaming the house not doing much of anything. He lies next to you and talks to you. I've caught him touching random things and then rubbing his fingers together as if he's lost feeling."

They shared a look.

"What?" I asked.

Dad sighed. "He's scared."

"Of what?"

"That you won't remember him. That your dreams are all you'll have."

To say I was shocked was an understatement. "What? Why would he think that I won't remember him? That's… that's-,"

Dad nodded. "I know. But that fear is there. He thinks that it will be just his luck that his soul mate won't remember him. He thought that you would have woken up sooner with him near you the way Caden did with Leah. But I tried to tell him that that wasn't it."

"What else did you say?"

"I told him that Caden's had a rough life since being infected. His mind and body are used to being abused like that, but yours aren't. Jacob thought I was just telling him crap to get me to go away."

I sighed. That sounded like Jacob. "Thanks, Daddy. For trying."

He nodded then jerked his chin to the stairs. "Go. He'd be happy to wake up to you."

Giving them both kisses on the cheek, I went for the stairs. Before I went down, I checked the hall clock. It was two in the morning. So I needed to be quiet just in case there were others sleeping in the house. Gently, I walked down the stairs, jumping the squeaky one.

I nearly lost my balance and fell forward, but a pair of strong hands caught me. I looked up to find Uncle Emmett grinning at me.

"Hey, gorgeous," he whispered.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he lifted me off the stairs to set me on the floor. "Uncle Em," I whispered back. "Don't you dare get emotional on me. I just woke up. I don't need the apocalypse to happen just yet."

He squeezed me. "I don't think I tell you that I love you enough, pipsqueak."

I laughed softly. "It's ok, Uncle Em. I know you love me."

Aunt Rose appeared beside us in a heartbeat. I went to her next. "I love you, too, Aunt Rose."

She tightened her grip for a second before pulling back with a smile. "He's on the couch."

"Thank you."

I kissed them both and then went for the couch that was positioned in front of the fireplace. Jacob's feet were hanging over the arm so I sidestepped them. When I saw him, my heart completely melted and I wanted to cry again. He was really here. He was real to me again, and I'd missed him. I wanted more than anything to crawl onto the couch with him, but Mom had been right. He hadn't been sleeping well. There were bags under his eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed and tense. And the top half of his right arm was covered in a swath of bandages. What had happened to him? Had he gotten shot again?

Sitting down beside the couch, I sat so that my side was pressed to the couch. I was able to see his face. Just like the last time I'd sat like this with him, his arm was hanging over the edge. I weighed my options. I wanted to touch him, but he needed to sleep. Unfortunately he hadn't registered my presence so maybe he needed me to touch him. I gladly did.

Swallowing hard and holding back my tears, I stroked my fingers gently over the skin of his forearm. It was warm and smooth and everything I remembered. I'd been so scared that he'd been the one the wolves were grieving over that I had made myself cautious when it came to thoughts of him. But now I knew he was alive because he was asleep on the couch beside me and I was touching his arm.

A moment later, he started snoring. Grinning, I turned to find that the frown between his eyes had vanished as had the tension. As I watched him, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye in the kitchen. Claire stepped into the doorway as I turned my head to look.

The moment she got that look in her eyes, I put my finger to my lips in the universal sign for "shh", and then pointed to Jacob. She nodded, placed her cup on the counter and ran to me. This was going to hurt so I braced myself as best I could. Luckily, Jacob had moved his arm or she would have run right into it on her way into my arms. I huffed as her body slammed into mine.

We'd tried to be quiet but apparently it wasn't quiet enough because Jacob's snores stopped. I looked up to find him watching me. I smiled at him as I stroked Claire's hair.

"You're awake," she whispered.

"I am. What are you doing out of bed?"

She smiled sheepishly. "I was thirsty and I didn't want to wake Quil up." Jacob moved on the couch bringing her attention to him. She gasped. "Oh, Uncle Jake! Did I wake you up?"

He smiled tiredly and shook his head. "No, Clairebear. You're alright."

Knowing he was lying she said, "Sorry, Uncle Jake. I'm just really happy to see Aunt Nessie."

"It's ok, Claire. But you can visit tomorrow, ok? Your mom would kill us if we let you stay up."

"Ok, Uncle Jake." She hugged me hard and then went to him. A moment later, we heard her grab her cup from the kitchen and then her little feet dart up the stairs.

Jacob and I smiled at each other at the same time as he reached for me. I went to him, pressing my hands into his bare chest. The mark I'd put there had started to fade. The darkest part of it was only about quarter size. He scooted over on the couch so that his back was pressed to the cushions. I lay beside him on my side so that we were facing each other. Again, I had to bite my lip to keep my tears at bay as I studied him. Gently, I touched the bandages at his shoulder, glad that he wasn't laying on that side.

"I remember you," I whispered, a couple tears slipping.

His hand came up to swipe them away. "I'm going to kill your dad," he whispered back with a smile.

I gently slapped his chest. "Well, you shouldn't be so stupid. I promised you that I'd always come back to you."

A couple tears of his own slipped out and it was my turn to wipe them away. He pressed his cheek into my hand.

"God, I love you so much, Nessie. Even though I knew you were going to be ok, I was so scared that I was going to lose you."

I pressed myself closer to him shaking my head. "I won't let that happen. I'm yours. Always." And I pressed my lips to his.

"Always," he whispered against my lips.

* * *

**Alright, guys. Let me know what you think. Remember, the next chapter is the last for this story. I'm not sure when I'll start posting for the next one, but knowing me, it'll be soon. xoxoxoxoxo**


	34. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30...the last for this story. Wow! I actually made it to the end. But in all reality, it was all thanks to you...my readers and reviewers. And yes, I WILL be working on a sequel, but I may not start it for a few days. The first chapter is generally the hardest for me to write so just hold tight.**

**But seriously, THANK YOU to all of you.**

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**Nearly a month later: Mid-December**

**RPOV**

"A Christmas wedding? Honestly." Aunt Alice was back on her spew about Rachel's change in wedding dates. Instead of sometime next year, she'd changed it to today, December twentieth.

Wobbling over to her in my super high heels, I gripped her shoulders. "Aunt Alice, it's fine. We're fine. It looks amazing out here and the humans are all warm. Breathe."

She pouted at me for a moment and then I felt her shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. Jacob had had the idea to use a greenhouse effect, which led my aunt to the giant clear tent. There were carefully decorated heaters on every row of chairs. Crystal and silver were the colors that everything had been changed to, and with the snow falling down around the tent everything glittered magically. It was beautiful. I was pretty sure that my aunt had outdone herself on this one.

She took another deep breath and nodded. "Ok, the boys are lined up in the front and the music is about to start."

"Then you go do what you need to do, and I'll go grab the bride."

Aunt Alice held my arm when I started to pull away. "Remember that Jacob can't see you."

I smiled and gently removed my arm. "Yes, we know. He's waiting for his signal to meet up with Rachel. Aunt Alice, we've got this."

Before she could stop me again, I went to Rachel's tent. There was no way for me to knock so I stepped in slowly. She was zipped up in her dress, her shoes sitting next to the vanity as she paced.

"Rach? You ok?"

When she looked over at me, the panic subsided a bit. Quickly she walked over to me, holding her dress up. Her arms engulfed me in a very tight hug. When I coughed, she seemed to realize what she was doing because she stepped back. My throat still wasn't quite back to normal.

"Sorry," she said, wringing her hands. "Nessie, why am I so nervous?"

"Because you're forgetting that the two of you are soul mates."

When she let that sink in, her shoulders relaxed. "How come you always know what to say?"

I shrugged, hoping that Aunt Alice was right in saying my dress was secure enough that I wouldn't fall out. "It's a gift."

"Thank you, Nessie. For everything."

"It's what I'm here for, Rachel. I'm trying to be a good alpha female."

She squeezed my hand. "Well, you're doing a great job."

At that moment, the music started up and I could see the panic rise up again. Placing my hands on her face, I made her look at me.

"Breathe, Rachel. You and Paul are meant to be together. If anything, he's sweating bullets hoping that you don't change your mind about him. You have the choice. He doesn't. Remember?"

"But I don't want anyone else," she whispered.

I shrugged again. "Then there's no reason to be nervous."

Emily came in, followed by Shelby. Emily's bump was barely showing under the flowing dress, but it was noticeable if she moved the right way. I always had to swallow a lump when I saw Shelby. Strangely, her eyes hadn't changed to a different color. Instead, they'd gotten brighter. As Caden had expected, her senses had heightened. We had yet to know if she'd shift because we hadn't had the full moon yet. According to Caden, we were only a few days off. Just after Christmas. He'd said that she may or may not shift. It was rare but it could happen that she'd get just the bells and whistles without having to actually drive the car. Dad had had to tell me that that meant that she may have super hearing but that didn't mean that she had to shift. The thing she loved the most? She could growl now. That had made me laugh, because it let me know that she accepted what had happened. She'd cried when we'd told her that Jordan hadn't made it.

My bruises had disappeared. The bite mark had, thankfully, vanished. And because of the date change for the wedding, I'd had to let Jacob's mark heal and disappear. The dress was just too low cut to keep it and not be asked a million questions. He could always bring it back later.

"You ready for this, Rachel?" Emily asked, hugging her.

Rachel's eyes darted to me, and she smiled. "Yeah. I think I am."

"Nervous?"

She shook her head. "Not anymore."

Emily grinned at her, and then motioned for her to turn around. Emily slipped the clip of the veil into Rachel's intricately braided hair.

"Ladies, let's go," Uncle Emmett's voice came from outside the tent.

Ten minutes later, I was watching Rachel walk down the aisle with Jacob at her side. The moment he saw me, he wasn't paying attention to anything else. I saw him swallow hard a few times before Rachel tugged on his arm and gave him a knowing look and smile.

Jacob placed her hand in Paul's with a nod at his pack brother and took his place beside the groom. When we all turned to the priest, I could still feel his eyes on me.

When everything was said and done, Paul and Rachel had said their own vows. We'd all danced in the reception, and Jacob couldn't wait to give me the mark again. But I was making him wait until we got back home.

As soon as the door closed behind him, he pressed himself to my back, kissing my bare neck since my hair was up. His lips on my skin were like the softest of velvet, teasing me. I felt his fingers at the zipper of my dress, pulling it down gently. When he finally had it done all the way, he slipped the fabric down my body, softly growling as more of my skin was bared to him. I was left in a strapless bra and my panties.

He picked my dress up and threw it so that it was laid over the stool of my vanity table. And then he was back to pressing himself against me, his arms sliding over my waist. He'd taken off his jacket when he'd been away from me. I turned in his arms so that I could start on the buttons of his shirt. The tie had been lost a while ago.

When I got to the button above his pants, I unbuckled his belt and undid the button. He'd taken to wearing boxers on days that he wore clothes. Once the button and belt were undone, I pulled his shirt out of his pants and undid the rest of the buttons on the shirt. Next thing I knew, the only thing he had on were the boxers as he backed us up to the bed, his lips on mine the whole time. His kisses were hot and hungry, yet gentle. After what had happened, he'd been so scared to get any kind of wild with me. And truth be told, I missed his wildness, his heat.

But I'd worry about that later.

Right now, I gripped his face and pulled him down on top of me on the bed. At first, all his weight was on his arms and knees, but after I tugged on his waist, he allowed himself to drop down on top of me, putting his weight on me. I loved it. It made me feel safe.

Soon, we got hot and heavy with his lips exploring my neck and chest. My nails dug into his skin. Luckily the claw marks on his shoulder had healed or I'd have reopened them with how deep I dug in. But I knew that his main goal was to mark me again and nothing more, so I didn't allow myself to get too caught up in the moment. When he reached the desired spot, I dug my fingers into his hair and pressed his head closer to me.

He growled against my skin, making me shiver, my breasts hardening for him. Those lips of his started sucking on my skin. Teeth nipped at me. Tongue tasted me. My hips bucked up into his and my back arched up off the bed. He used that to push his hand into the space between me and the bed and pull me up, holding me to his mouth. I gripped his shoulders with a sigh as the heat from his mouth started to die down and calm.

After a moment, he licked me one last time before laying me back on the bed. I laid there in blissful lust while he moved around me, pulling the comforter down and then back up over us.

No words needed to be said between us as he curled up behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into the crook of his body. He kept our lower bodies apart just long enough for him to calm down.

Well, one thing needed to be said.

"I love you, Jacob."

"Love you, too, Nessie."

And then we both drifted off to sleep after a long, happy day.

**JPOV**

Nervous? Me? Absolutely.

Of course, I didn't know why. It wasn't like she was going to say no. I stopped rubbing my sweaty palms on my jeans and thought about that one. She very well could say no…Well, hell. Didn't that just make me more nervous?

"Jacob? You ok?" Nessie asked me from the passenger seat of the truck.

All the women in my life except for Leah and Morgan helped me to plan this. It's my job to execute it. One job. Easy, right? Hell no. Anyway, I'd invited Nessie to sit with me at a pack meeting. I knew she was finally ready to talk about all the details of what had happened back in November. She'd only given us the basic events and Caden hadn't had much to say either in the way of detail. But the pack meeting was a fluke. Sure the pack and imprints were all at Sam's house. And I'm sure the Cullens had left their house seconds after I pulled out of the driveway. But this wasn't going to be a traditional pack meeting. Not by a long shot.

"Yeah," I answered. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged theatrically. "Oh, I don't know. You seem tense and you're not holding my hand. You always hold my hand when we drive."

Quickly, I reached over to grip her palm in mine and brought her fingers to my lips. With any luck, by the end of this meeting, there'd be a ring on this hand. The ring that was currently in my pocket and felt like it had gained a thousand more pounds.

"Better?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Much." She grinned at me and settled into the seat, the tension leaving her. Damn. I'd been right. She reacted to how I reacted. When I was tense, so was she. When I was calm, so was she.

We drove the rest of the way to Sam's house in easy silence, squeezing each other's fingers.

**RPOV**

Jacob had been acting funny all morning. Of course, he'd been overly attentive since the whole ordeal a month ago. He'd barely let me out of his sight. The only time that I was really out of his sight was when I was in the bathroom. Even then, he stood across the hall leaning against the doorframe of my room, arms crossed and a frown on his face.

It was odd how quickly he and I had gotten back into our passion for each other. I knew that most women had issues with being around men after impending rape or actual rape, but there was no way that I could have stayed away from Jacob. I needed him. He'd asked what the bite mark had been from. When I'd told him that it had come from Tristan, I'd been freaked out by the intense hatred in his eyes, and I knew that he wished he'd killed him in the woods that night. If they met again, I knew that Tristan wouldn't be walking away from the encounter. But I tried not to let Jacob think about it too much because it always got him hot under the collar.

Today, though, he'd been more attentive than usual. The breakfast in bed was now a normal thing, but when he'd brought the tray in, the plates and glass had rattled slightly. His palms had been slightly damp. When he'd gone to take a shower, I'd slipped away to ask Carlisle and Caden if it could have something to do with the wound that Tristan had given him. They'd both assured me that it wasn't possible. Then, they'd shared a look and tried to hide their grins as they told me that it could be something else.

I'd decided to ask him later when the day was over and we were about to go to sleep. Right now, we were driving slowly over the snow and ice covered roads. December had hit us hard. Yesterday at the wedding had been the third snow of the month. The left-overs of that were going to be covered up sometime during today or the night. They were calling for the second massive snow storm of the season to hit tomorrow evening so everybody was gearing up for that.

Everything was covered in snow and ice. It really was a winter wonderland. Kids were out having snowball fights or packing the snow up to create ramps and sledding hills. When we drove down into the rez, some of the kids waved and ran after the truck, slipping and sliding. Laughing, I waved back. Jacob chuckled beside me as he slowed down to a stop. One of the boys kept coming up to the truck with something in his hands. He was one of the older boys, in his mid-teens, that we were watching out for to see if he phased. Jacob rolled down the window for me so that I could talk to him.

"Hey, Nessie," he nodded to me then to Jacob. "Jacob."

"Lucas," Jacob said in acknowledgement.

Lucas reached into the truck and handed me a deep red rose. "Here ya go, Ness. I had dad save this one for you. The last one for the year."

Surprised, I took the rose from him, watching for the thorns, and put it to my nose. Somehow Lucas's father was always able to get his roses to smell like sweet cinnamon. I always went to his shop to grab a few to put in my room, but I hadn't gotten to it this year.

"Thank you, Lucas. It's beautiful."

He nodded with a smile. "You're very welcome." Then his eyes went to Jake. "Good luck, man." And then he was off to build his ramp.

Jacob rolled up the window and started the truck rolling again. I looked over at him. "What was that for?"

He shrugged. "The meeting, I guess."

He was lying. I knew he was lying. Usually his words were easy and came out like water. Those came out like gravel. But he wasn't worried or angry over anything. He was happy. So I went with it, stroking his fingers where they were intertwined with mine.

"So was he saying good luck so that we'd _last_ through the super boring meeting?"

He brought my hand up for another kiss. "I really hope it won't be all that boring. That would mean that I did something wrong."

I gave him a questioning look but all he did was grin, shake his head, and not look at me. Alrighty, then. It wasn't long before we pulled up in front of Sam's house. Even though Jacob had taken his rightful place as Alpha they still used Sam's house for meetings because his house was the one they'd made all the additions to. So Sam and Emily had kept their home open to the pack. In return, we all helped in the upkeep of the house. The other girls and I had started helping Emily with the baby's room.

As we drove down the driveway, I noticed a couple cars. It made me frown because the pack generally didn't drive. The only ones who did were the imprints because we couldn't run on four legs. I usually ran with Jake, though.

I didn't ask. Maybe the girls were over to help Emily get through all the wolfiness. Jacob put the truck in park and told me to stay. I huffed as I sat back against the seat. He'd been doing that lately too, not letting me get out of the truck on my own. When he opened my door, I gave him a look.

He reached for me, waggling his fingers. "Is it so bad that I want to take care of you?"

I sighed in defeat and put my hands on his shoulders as he gripped my waist. I kissed him before he put me on my feet. "No, but I can get out of the truck on my own. I'm not glass. I won't break, Jake." I put my hand to his cheek. "I love that you want to take care of me, though."

"Really?"

That made me frown. "Of course. I love you. Why wouldn't I love that you want to take care of me?"

He shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Probably because I couldn't protect you."

Ok, that made me angry. "Jacob Black, you listen to me. What happened a month ago was not your fault. If I had stayed with Seth, it wouldn't have happened. It was my own stupidity and I don't blame anybody else for it. You saved my life, Jacob. You pulled me out of that cabin. That's all that counts. You are still my protector, my man, my very strong wolf. I don't need anything or anybody else. I have what I need." Kissing him again, I tugged on his hands. "Now let's go inside. It's cold out here."

Stomping my boots on the porch, I opened the door. Walking inside, I found that the house was empty.

"Hello?" I called.

"Out here, Ness!" Sam called from the sliding glass door in the back.

Frowning, I glanced back at Jacob. "An outdoor pack meeting? In this weather?"

He chuckled nervously and tucked his hands into his pockets. "I think we got it covered."

I went for the back door to meet the others outside. Looking back, I found Jacob staring at the floor, his lip between his teeth.

"You ok?"

He glanced up at me and gave me a small smile. "Yeah. I'm just going over everything in my head first real quick."

"Ok, well I'm going to go out, alright?"

When he nodded, I slid open one of the doors and stepped out. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't cold. The second was that my boots didn't crunch into the snow because there wasn't snow. Looking up, I found a tent similar to the one used yesterday at Rachel's wedding. This one was attached to the side of the house and I noticed a heater sitting at the door. When I turned around, I found that everyone was glancing at me but having small discussions here and there.

"Hey, guys," I called to everyone as I walked toward Rachel. They nodded at me as I passed.

Rachel was positively glowing, but I was a little confused as to why she was still here. She and Paul had a honeymoon to attend to. She grinned at me and pulled me into a tight hug. Paul was beside her rubbing her back.

"Hey, Ness. How are you feeling?"

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Um, fine? What's going on?" I asked as Paul pulled me into a hug.

"Pack meeting," Rachel answered.

"You're not a wolf," I felt the need to point out.

She grinned and looked at Paul. "No, but my husband is."

Paul grinned at his new title.

"Seriously, guys. You should already be on your honeymoon. What's up?"

I glanced around at everyone…and that's when I saw them. My family. The Cullens. Just as I heard the sliding glass door and Rachel turning me around by my shoulders with a massive grin.

"I just couldn't miss this," she whispered into my ear.

Jacob was standing there, staring at me, taking deep breaths. The tent went silent as everybody turned to face the door and stepped back to leave me and Jacob alone in the space between them and the house.

He cleared his throat as he came to stand in front of me.

"Jacob, what-?"

He took my hands in his.

"Nessie, we're not normal. To us, we are. But to be on the outside looking in, nothing about us is normal. And though I know you consider a piece of paper," he gave me a look, "mundane," digging into his pocket, he pulled out a simple circle, "I would never consider you being a Black anywhere near mundane."

I gasped, my hands flying to my mouth as tears came to my eyes. He went down on one knee in front of me, holding that ring, his mother's ring, up to me. His hand was shaking.

"So, with that being said," he started again in a less than solid voice, "I would be the happiest man on this planet if you would sign that little piece of paper." He took my left hand in his. "Will you, Renesmee Carlie Cullen, do me the…most incredible honor of becoming a Black, my wife?"

There was no hesitation even though surprise still shook me. "Of course. All you had to do was ask," I whispered as my tears fell. The crowd chuckled softly.

Jacob grinned at me and slipped the ring on my finger with shaking hands as the crowd clapped and whistled. What surprised me, though, was that it fit. Once it was on my finger, I flexed my hand. The ring was snug as if it had been made for me.

Jacob let out a relieved breath. "A perfect fit," he whispered more to himself than me.

But I answered anyway. "Yeah, how did you know?"

As he stood up, gripping me around the waist, his eyes flicked over my shoulder to someone behind me. "I didn't," he whispered again. I looked back to see that he was meeting eyes with Billy. There must have been something about the whole fit thing that I just wasn't getting. I'd ask later.

Reaching up with my left hand, I touched his cheek to get him to look at me. "Why were you so nervous?"

He shrugged and lifted me up into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and slid my arms around his neck. "There was always the possibility that you'd say no."

I shook my head adamantly. "No, Jacob. There was never any possibility of that. If getting married means this much to you, then it means this much to me. I just wish I'd known."

He grinned. "Well, then," he said, raising his voice for everyone to hear. "I guess we have another wedding to plan."

As our families roared out again around us, we grinned at each other before pressing our lips together.

"I guess we do," I whispered against his lips before we crashed back into each other.

Another wedding to plan sounded good to me…as long as Jacob was waiting for me at the altar.

* * *

**The end! For now...Please review for this last one. It would make my day :D I seriously love you guys . -Laura xoxoxoxoxo**


	35. Chapter 35

Hey guys! I wasn't expecting to post again on this story, however, I think I needed to make this announcement on here. The sequel to Troubles with Fairytales _**IS**_up and running. It's called Problems in Paradise. A lot of my reviewers on TFT I haven't been seeing on PIP so I was just wanting to let you guys know. Hope to see you guys over there!

Laura


End file.
